Elche vs Barcelona kicks off on 23 Aug 2026 at 15:30 EST and 20:30 GMT.
Champions Barca kick off their title defence against Elche
Hosts' survival hopes hinge on their home record
Elche finished 15th last season on 43 points, doing enough to secure safety by a solitary point, and they'll likely be up against it this season. Their record at the Martinez Valero might be critical, as they collected a staggering 35 (81%) of their points at their stadium, making them the sixth-best home side of the 2025-26 LaLiga season. Los Franjiverdes opened their campaign with a hard-fought 1–1 draw against Deportivo La Coruña after conceding the opener. Elche scored in both meetings with Barcelona last season after failing to score in nine of the 11 prior to that, so they'll be confident they can ruffle some famous feathers in their first home clash of the campaign.
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Getty ImagesCatalan giants are favourites to retain their title
Barcelona won the title last season on 94 points, scoring a remarkable 95 goals in a dominant campaign. They start as clear favourites to retain their crown.
What have Barca done in the transfer market?
Spain's World Cup Golden Ball winner Rodri is the marquee signing, joining from Man City in a deal worth an initial €60 million. In attack, Anthony Gordon (€70 million), Karim Adeyemi (€22 million) and Jesse Bisiwu (€8.5 million) have all arrived to replace the departed Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford.
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Adam Boayar, Grady Diangana, and Yago Santiago are all nursing minor injuries for the hosts. Meanwhile, Barca's midfield metronome Frenkie de Jong remains sidelined with a knee injury. Roony Bardghji is also out long-term. Marquee midfield signing Rodri is a major doubt after his World Cup exploits.
Likely XIs
Elche (352): Dituro; Chust, Affengruber, Redondo; Sangare, Villar, Aguado, Neto, Valera; Houary, Nino.
Barcelona (4231): Garcia; Kounde, Eric Garcia, Martin, Balde; Bernal, Espart; Yamal, Lopez, Gordon; Raphinha.
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Elche vs Barcelona Probable lineups
Elche head into this fixture without four players. Yago Santiago, Grady Diangana, Abiel Osorio, and Adam Boayar are all listed as injured, leaving Anselmi with a reduced pool to select from. No suspensions are recorded, and no probable lineup has been confirmed ahead of kick-off.
Barcelona also have injury concerns to manage. Frenkie de Jong and Roony Bardghji are both sidelined, though Flick has no suspensions to contend with. The club has not released a confirmed starting eleven, and updates are expected closer to the match.
Form
Elche have not won in their last five matches, recording one win, four draws, and no losses across that run. Their only victory came against Kaizer Chiefs in a pre-season friendly, and they drew 1-1 with Deportivo de A Coruña in their LaLiga opener on August 17. Across the five matches, Elche scored six goals and conceded six. The run includes back-to-back draws in friendly competition against Cordoba and Al-Ain.
Barcelona's last five matches produced two wins, one draw, and two losses. Their most recent outing was a 2-1 friendly win over Al Ahly SC on August 19, following a 2-5 victory against Basel on August 16. They lost to Udinese and were held by Birmingham City, but also beat Nottingham Forest 1-0. Across the five games, Barcelona scored ten goals and conceded nine.
Head-to-Head Record
Head to Head
The most recent meeting between these sides ended 1-3 to Barcelona at the Estadio Martinez Valero on January 31, 2026, in a LaLiga fixture. In the reverse fixture earlier that season, Barcelona won 3-1 at home on November 2, 2025. Across the last five head-to-head meetings, Barcelona have won all five, scoring thirteen goals and conceding two.
