Overview
Elche is facing a tense relegation battle in La Liga when they have only won 32 points after 31 rounds, temporarily ranked 18th and only 1 point behind the safe position. However, Eder Sarabia's team still shows positive signs when winning 2/3 of the most recent matches, especially effective performances at home.
In fact, Martinez Valero stadium is becoming a major support for Elche this season. They have the sixth best home record in the league with 28 points after 16 matches and only lost 2 times. However, the biggest problem lies in away form, when Elche has not won any match and only has 4 points after 15 away trips.
In the opposite direction, Atletico Madrid entered the match with a heavy mentality after the painful penalty defeat against Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey final. Although they drew 2-2 after 120 minutes, Diego Simeone's team still collapsed in the fateful penalty shootout, closing the opportunity to win domestic titles.
Atletico's recent form is also alarming as they have lost 6 of their last 7 matches in all competitions, including 3 consecutive defeats in La Liga. Since mid-March, the capital team has only had one victory against Getafe, the rest are disappointing against big opponents such as Real Madrid, Barcelona or Sevilla.
However, Atletico is still quite safe in the top 4 race as they are 11 points ahead of Real Betis. This may distract them somewhat as their biggest priority at this time is the Champions League arena, where they have reached the semi-finals.
Another worrying point is that Atletico's away record this season is not really convincing, with only 4 wins after 15 matches. Against an Elche playing very uncomfortably at home, Simeone's team can completely face another challenging match.
In the context that the two teams have two different goals - Elche is thirsty for points to avoid relegation, Atletico is keeping energy for European cups - the situation of the match promises to be not easy to predict.
Personnel situation
Elche does not have too many personnel problems before welcoming Atletico Madrid, except for having to check the fitness of Adam El Mokhtari and Buba Sangare. If both recover in time, the home team will have almost the full strength for this important match.
In attack, Alvaro Rodriguez is likely to be given the opportunity to start after making his mark when coming on as a substitute in the match against Valencia. Besides, Lucas Cepeda is also scoring strongly as he himself is the one who scored the decisive goal in the most recent match, thereby creating a bright opportunity to be in the starting lineup.
On the opposite side, Atletico Madrid is facing many significant losses. The trio Ademola Lookman, Jose Gimenez and Alexander Sorloth are definitely absent due to injury, while David Hancko's ability to play is still uncertain.
After the defeat in the Copa del Rey final, Diego Simeone is predicted to make many personnel changes. Names like Jan Oblak, Clement Lenglet, Nico Gonzalez, Johnny Cardoso, Alex Baena and Javier Bona may return to the main squad to refresh their playing style.
With the current force balance, Elche has an advantage in stability, while Atletico has a deep squad but is being affected by injuries and a dense schedule.
Expected lineup:
Elche: Dituro, Petrot, Affengruber, Bigas, Morente, Febas, Aguado, Valera, Capeda, Rodriguez, Mir.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Bonar, Pubill, Lenglet, Diaz, Mendoza, Cardoso, Almada, Baena, Gonzalez, Alvarez.
The match between Elche and Atletico Madrid takes place at 0:00 a.m. on April 23 (Vietnam time).
