Preview: Elche vs Real Betis - prediction, team news, lineups

Elche will begin life back in Spain's top flight with a home fixture against Real Betis on Monday evening.

The hosts secured a return to La Liga courtesy of their second-placed finish in the 2024-25 Segunda Division table, while Real Betis finished sixth in Spain's top flight last term, in addition to reaching the Conference League final.

Match preview

Elche finished bottom of La Liga in 2022-23 to drop down to the Segunda Division, and they were actually 11th in the second tier in 2023-24, but second last term saw them gain promotion back to the top flight.

As expected, it has been a busy transfer window for the club, with seven new players arriving, while 10 have left, with the squad certainly in need of a refresh in order to stand a chance of being competitive in La Liga this term.

Eder Sarabia's side played a lot of football over the summer, taking to the field for eight friendlies, and they won their last two against Almeria and Hercules, keeping clean sheets in both of those fixtures.

The Green-striped ones have lost three of their last four La Liga games against Real Betis, including a 3-2 defeat when the two teams last locked horns at the home of the promoted outfit in February 2023.

Elche have managed to post 16 wins against Real Betis throughout history, though, and they will be bidding to use home advantage to claim a positive result in their campaign opener on Monday night.

Real Betis, meanwhile, finished sixth in Spain's top flight last season, picking up 60 points from their 38 matches courtesy of a record of 16 wins, 12 draws and 10 defeats.

Manuel Pellegrini's side lost the final of the Conference League to Chelsea, but they managed to qualify for the league phase of the Europa League through their league position, and they will again be expecting to push for Europe this term.

The Greens have managed to add seven players to their squad this summer, with Nelson Deossa proving to be the biggest of those in terms of a transfer fee, while Rodrigo Riquelme has also arrived from Atletico Madrid.

Real Betis are still hopeful of completing a deal for Manchester United attacker Antony before the end of the transfer window, but it is a difficult negotiation due to the amount of money that the 20-time English champions want.

The Seville outfit will actually enter this match off the back of two defeats in their final two friendlies of the summer, going down 3-2 to Como on August 6 before losing 3-1 to Malaga three days later.

Elche pre-season form:

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Real Betis pre-season form:

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Team News

Elche will be missing Yago Santiago through injury on Monday, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape.

Alvaro Rodriguez, who has joined the club from Real Madrid this summer, is set to feature in the final third of the field, and it will be fascinating to see how the talented 21-year-old performs this season.

German Valera is also set to be among the debutants, while there will be a spot in the side for Mourad El Ghezouani, who scored 10 times in 34 appearances during an impressive 2024-25 campaign for the club.

As for Real Betis, Isco is definitely out due to a fractured leg, while Deossa, Abde Ezzalzouli, Diego Llorente, Iker Losada and Marc Roca will all need late fitness tests to determine whether they can be involved.

Natan is in line to make his debut in the middle of the defence, while there is also set to be a spot in the XI for Riquelme following his arrival from Atletico this summer.

Giovani Lo Celso is expected to operate as the number 10 on Monday night, with Pablo Fornals potentially being used in a deeper midfield role by Pellegrini this season.

Elche possible starting lineup:

Dituro; Bigas, Petrot, Affengruber; Nunez, Aguado, Mendoza, Valera; Febas; El Ghezouani, Rodriguez

Real Betis possible starting lineup:

Lopez; Bellerin, Natan, Bartra, Firpo; Altimira, Fornals; Avila, Lo Celso, Riquelme; Hernandez

We say: Elche 1-2 Real Betis

Elche have enough quality to make this a tough match for Real Betis, but the visitors can call upon superior players, and we are expecting them to navigate their way to all three points on Monday.

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