Elche vs Villarreal Betting Odds, Tips, Predictions, Preview 3rd January 2026

Elche enjoy home advantage, when visitors Villarreal swing by this coming Saturday for a clash in the LaLiga. The former will be looking to make that home advantage count.

Placed nineth in the table Elche have amassed 22 points after 17 matches. On 35 points, Villarreal rank fourth with 17 matches played this season.

From a rather disappointing situation in the table, Elche could really do with a victory in the match against Villarreal. As they have had some tough results, the hosts must get their season back on track pronto.

Elche are relatively average in the art of goal-scoring these days. They scored a steady 13 goals in their previous ten matches, for an average of 1.3 per game. They simultaneously allowed their opponents 14 goals, or an average of 1.4 a game. Furthermore, they fought their way to three clean sheets in this run.

When it comes to goal-scoring Villarreal are not the most prolific side. They scored a sustainable 19 times in their previous ten matches, making it 1.9 goals per game. They conceded ten goals for an average of one a game, achieving a clean sheet in five of these matches.

Elche face off against Villarreal for the first time in a while, with Elche claiming a 3-1 win at Estadio Martinez Valero back then.

Elche vs Villarreal Prediction

Elche Form

Elche recorded two wins in their last three matches, but started off by losing 3-1 against Mallorca. They responded by beating Eibar 0-1, and followed that up by winning 4-0 against Rayo Vallecano. Elche claimed a middle-of-the-road three wins in their previous six matches on home soil in the LaLiga. They also drew three but remained undefeated, as they scored 12 and conceded four goals.

Ambitions are high for Elche, and winning the title is still possible, but they need to raise their level to achieve the highest prize.

Villarreal Form

Villarreal were unable to pick up a single good result in their last three matches, as they were first beaten 2-3 by FC Copenhagen. Next up, Racing Santander won 2-1, before losing 0-2 against Barcelona. Villarreal claimed a remarkable four wins from six away matches in the LaLiga, as well as no draw but two defeats. They also banged in ten goals, whilst conceding eight.

They are one of only a few teams capable of taking the title in the LaLiga, and Villarreal currently remain on course.

While not quite trusting Elche with the home win, we still find them a better betting option than an unimpressive Villarreal team. We settled for the draw-no-bet or double-chance.

Elche have taken eight points from their last eight games against teams from the top half of the LaLiga table. They won one of these matches with a scoreline of nine goals to 11. Villarreal took 11 points from their last eight games against teams from the top half of the LaLiga table. They won three, scored nine goals and conceded 11. Elche have a record of five wins, seven draws and five defeats in the LaLiga this season. Villarreal enjoy a record of 11 wins, two draws and three defeats in the LaLiga.

Elche vs Villarreal Squads

Elche Squad

Eder Sarabia will choose the starting lineup for the upcoming game against Villarreal from the players listed below (the information in the brackets refers to goals scored and matches played in the LaLiga this season):

Alejandro Iturbe (0/0), Inaki Pena (0/11), Matias Dituro (0/6), Adria Pedrosa (1/11), Albert Niculaesei (0/0), Alvaro Nunez (0/17), Bambo Diaby (0/2), Carlos Clerc (0/0), Hector Fort (1/9), Leo Petrot (0/15), Pedro Bigas (0/13), Victor Chust (0/12), Aleix Febas (1/17), Federico Redondo (0/4), Grady Diangana (0/7), John Donald (1/11), Josan (0/9), Marc Aguado (0/16), Martim Neto (1/13), Rodrigo Mendoza (1/12), Tobias Christensen (0/0), Yago Santiago (0/4), Adam Boayar (0/2), Ali Houary (0/2), Alvaro Rodriguez (3/14), Andre Silva (4/14), David Affengruber (0/16), German Valera (3/16), Rafa Mir (6/17).

Villarreal Squad

Here is the full team squad of Villarreal. The 60 year-old Marcelino Garcia will select his starting lineup from the following players:

Arnau Tenas (0/3), Diego Conde (0/0), Luiz Junior (0/13), Adria Altimira (0/1), Alfonso Pedraza (0/11), Ismael Sierra (0/0), Juan Foyth (0/9), Logan Costa (0/0), Pau Navarro (0/6), Rafa Marin (1/12), Santiago Mourino (0/10), Sergi Cardona (0/13), Willy Kambwala (0/0), Alberto Moleiro (6/16), Daniel Parejo (0/13), Mahamoud Barry (0/0), Manor Solomon (1/6), Pape Gueye (2/13), Renato Veiga (0/14), Santi Comesana (2/15), Tajon Buchanan (5/16), Thomas Partey (0/12), Ayoze Perez (2/9), Georges Mikautadze (3/11), Gerard Moreno (4/7), Ilias Akhomach (0/9), Nicolas Pepe (2/15), Pau Cabanes (0/0), Tani Oluwaseyi (2/13).

Elche vs Villarreal Team News

Villarreal face a list of five absentees from the squad ahead of their next match this coming Saturday against Elche. Alfonso Pedraza, Pape Gueye, Daniel Parejo, Georges Mikautadze and Pape Gueye sit this one out for Villarreal, serving a suspension instead of travelling to meet Elche.

Elche vs Villarreal Lineups

Elche vs Villarreal H2H

Elche last faced Villarreal on 4 February 2023 at Estadio Martinez Valero, when Elche scored a 3-1 win. Elche have a 20% win rate against Villarreal, who won four of these matches. The total record reads 2-4-4, which is worth keeping in mind before you make a choice for your next accumulator, depending on your betting strategy.

Elche vs Villarreal Results

In the last ten matches between Elche and Villarreal over 2.5 goals came out five times. Odds on at least three goals are at 4/5 with bookies.

Elche vs Villarreal Betting Tips

Alvaro Rodriguez look like value in the goal scoring market with three strikes to his name in six LaLiga matches. The visitors are crossing their fingers Alberto Moleiro adds to his four LaLiga goals come this coming Saturday.

Elche won six of their last 10 matches on home soil, drew four and lost none. Villarreal won five games, drew one and lost four in their last 10 away games across all tournaments. It is a tough one to call who gets to draw first blood on Saturday. Elche managed to open the scoring in no less than seven of their previous 10 league games at home. Villarreal have been equally quick to get off the mark, scoring the opener in six of their last 10 away games.

Both teams to score was a winning bet five times in the last ten encounters between these two rivals, while at least four goals happened five times. Elche managed an average of one goal, while Villarreal averaged 1.6 goals a game. Over 2.5 goals came out seven times in the previous ten matches across all tournaments for Elche, who scored an average of 1.9 goals along the way. Over 2.5 goals happened in five of the last ten outings for Villarreal, who managed to score 1.3 times in those matches.