Preview: Elche vs Barcelona - prediction, team news, lineups

Barcelona will begin their 2026-27 La Liga campaign with a clash against Elche on Sunday night.

The Catalan giants are bidding to retain the La Liga title this season, with their main competition set to again come from Real Madrid, while Elche have already started their league campaign, drawing 1-1 with Deportivo La Coruna last time out.

Match preview

Elche started their 2026-27 La Liga campaign on August 17, opening up with a 1-1 draw against Deportivo, but they will now have a huge step up in quality here against Barcelona.

The Green-striped ones finished 15th in Spain's top flight last season to make it back-to-back campaigns at this level, and they will be determined to avoid a relegation battle in 2026-27.

Martin Anselmi is now in charge of Elche, with the 41-year-old signing an initial one-year contract at the club, and it will be fascinating to see how he performs at the helm.

Elche have been busy during this summer's transfer window, boosting their squad with the arrivals of eight players, which should stand them in good stead for the season.

The Green-striped ones are currently on a 12-game losing run against Barcelona in all competitions, while they have not overcome the Catalan team since December 1974.

Barcelona's hopes for this season are clear - win another La Liga title and make a strong claim for the Champions League trophy, and the recent arrival of Rodri from Manchester City has shown that the Catalan outfit mean business once again.

Hansi Flick's side were not involved in the opening set of La Liga fixtures, with their game against Athletic Bilbao being postponed until August 27 due to the fact that Barcelona had a number of players involved in the latter stages of the 2026 World Cup.

Barcelona won four of their six pre-season friendlies, including a 2-1 success over Al Ahly last time out, and they will be determined to start their campaign on a winning note.

The Catalan side have added five players to their squad this summer, with Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, Jesse Bisiwu and Joao Cancelo joining Rodri at the club.

Barcelona remain active in the transfer market and are hopeful of adding a star forward, with Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres both leaving the club this summer.

Elche La Liga form:

Barcelona pre-season form:

Team News

Elche will be without the services of both Yago Santiago and Adam Boayar through injury, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape for this contest.

It is once again expected to be a 3-4-3 formation for Elche this weekend, but there could be a change in the final third of the field, with Lucas Cepeda potentially coming in for a start.

New signing Fer Nino is also set to feature through the middle.

As for Barcelona, Frenkie de Jong and Roony Bardghji are both out of the match through injury, while the game is expected to come too soon for Rodri in terms of a potential debut for the Spaniard.

However, there is a chance that Rodri could be on the bench.

Head coach Flick is expected to reward summer arrival Hamza Abdelkarim with a start; the 18-year-old scored four times during pre-season and has shown himself to be a huge talent.

Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez and Raphinha are also in line for spots in the final third of the field, but Pau Cubarsi is still building back to full fitness after the 2026 World Cup, so it could be Eric Garcia at right-back and Jules Kounde in the middle of the defence.

Elche possible starting lineup:

Dituro; Chust, Redondo, Affengruber; Sangare, Villar, Aguado, Valera; Houary, Nino, Cepeda

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; E Garcia, Kounde, Martin, Balde; Pedri, Bernal; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Abdelkarim

We say: Elche 1-3 Barcelona

It is difficult to imagine Elche coming up with a positive result on Sunday; Barcelona are still getting key players back to full fitness, but the Catalan outfit should have too much quality for the hosts.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.