The Matchday 27 La Liga fixture between Villarreal vs Elche will take place on 8 March at the Estadio de la Ceramica. Villarreal vs Elche: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Villarreal
A week ago, Villarreal could not contain Barcelona at Camp Nou (1:4). That result ended the club’s short run of two straight wins in La Liga and, as a consequence, it dropped back behind Atletico Madrid into third place in the standings. The battle for bronze is extremely tight, with the home team currently behind their direct rival solely on tie-breakers. It is also worth noting that Villarreal have scored in six consecutive league matches, while across the last 11 rounds they have kept just one clean sheet.
- Since the start of the current La Liga season, Villarreal have scored 48 goals in total – only Real Madrid (56) and Barcelona (71) have more.
- The club’s all-or-nothing run in this competition now stands at five matches (three wins, two defeats).
- Five of Villarreal’s last six La Liga matches have gone over the total.
Potential Villarreal Lineup (4-4-2)*
Luiz Junior – Santiago Mourino, Renato Veiga, Pau Navarro, Sergi Cardona – Alberto Moleiro, Santi Comesana, Pape Gueye, Nicolas Pepe – Ayoze Perez, Georges Mikautadze.
Due to injuries, Villarreal will be without defenders Juan Foyth and Logan Costa, as well as forwards Ayoze Perez and Pau Cabanes. The involvement of defender Willy Kambwala is in doubt.
Elche
Elche’s last La Liga outing ended in a hard-fought draw with Espanyol (2:2). The away team went behind twice, but eventually snatched a point thanks to a 90th-minute penalty. The squad avoided a fifth defeat in six league matches, yet their winless run in this competition has now reached nine games (four draws, five losses). Notably, both teams scored in eight of those nine matches. The club remain in a perilous 17th place in the standings, with only a two-point cushion over the relegation zone.
- Elche have scored in 11 of their last 12 La Liga matches.
- In away matches this La Liga season, Elche have collected four points – the worst tally in the league.
- The club have conceded in 12 consecutive away matches in the Spanish top flight.
Potential Elche Lineup (3-5-2)*
Matias Dituro – Pedro Bigas, Leo Petrot, David Affengruber – German Valera, Tete Morente, Lucas Cepeda, Marc Aguado, Aleix Febas – Rafa Mir, Andre Silva.
Midfielder Yago Santiago is suspended. Defender Hector Fort is unavailable through injury.
Referee
Victor Garcia (Spain)
Matches – 13 (La Liga, 2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 40;
Average yellow cards per match – 3.0;
Red cards shown – 1;
Average fouls per match – 22;
Penalties – 8%.
Villarreal vs Elche: Match Prediction
Villarreal lost their most recent league match, but that came away to leaders Barcelona. Now the home team are considered clear favourites and, in that role, they tend to be close to flawless. On their own patch in the current La Liga season, Villarreal have dropped points only against sides from the upper part of the table. Including last season’s campaign, the hosts have recorded 14 wins in their last 17 home league matches.
Elche are trying to pick up points to avoid slipping into the relegation zone, but their winless run in the Spanish top flight has already stretched to nine matches (four draws, five defeats). On the road, the visitors have found things particularly difficult: by total points won, Elche sit 20th in La Liga (four points). Since October, the club have recorded eight defeats and one draw in their last nine away La Liga matches.
Prediction: Villarreal to win
* For each team, the starting XI from its previous match in this competition is listed.
