Elche – Valencia. Prediction and Match Preview

April 11, 2026, 5:15 PM. Elche. "Martínez Valero".
La Liga 2025-26. Round 31

Elche – Valencia

Where to watch: MEGOGO

Suspended: Pedro Bigas (Elche)

Injured: Hector Fort, Grady Diangana, Adam Boyar – Julen Aguirrezabala, Unai Nunez, Mouctar Diakábi, Jose Kopete, Dimitri Foulquier

Doubtful: Marc Aguado (Elche)

Elche

Before the March international break, Eder Sarabia's team finally won their first victory of 2026. Franchiverdes triumphed over Mallorca, their key relegation rivals at the break, swapping places in the table after the clash and climbing out of the relegation zone. Elche fought hard for this crucial victory at their home ground, the Estadio Martínez Valero, showing real determination despite being behind early on. Sarabia's men were only down a few minutes before Rafa Mir equalised. Shortly afterwards, Tete Morente capitalised on Valera's cross on the wing to put Franchiverdes ahead - a goal that proved decisive. The visitors were awarded a penalty in stoppage time, but Vedat Muriki saved the spot kick.

The result ended an 11-match winless run in which Elche had only collected four points. A series of defeats saw them drop from mid-table to the relegation zone. After a two-week break, Sarabia's team suffered another defeat, losing narrowly away to Rayo Vallecano. The home team dominated from the start, although Elche occasionally threatened on the counter-attack. Towards half-time, the Franchiverdes were reduced to ten men when captain Pedro Bigas saw the red light, making any hope of victory remote. They concentrated on defending and mostly held firm, but one mistake allowed newly-minted substitute Nteca to score the only goal in the 74th minute. The following day, Mallorca snatched a win over Real Madrid, sending Elche back into the relegation zone.

Valencia

The Bats had been in danger of relegation, having finished the first half of the season in the relegation zone, but Carlos Corberán's side had recently added points to their tally, leaving them in a relatively safe position with a clear six-point lead over Elche ahead of this match. Valencia's form and results began to improve with the arrival of spring. In their first matches of March, they won two consecutive home games, beating Osasuna (1-0), who were on a long unbeaten run at the time, and Alaves (3-2), dramatically reducing the deficit in the 90th minute.

However, a third consecutive win slipped out of reach for Corberán's side. In fact, the Bats suffered their second narrow defeat of the season against Oviedo, a team that has long been a fixture in La Liga. However, they went into the international break with a big score, with a somewhat unexpected but well-deserved away win over Sevilla (2-0, thanks to goals from Duro and Ramazan), one of their teammates in a survival battle that is not quite over for Los Ches. Last weekend, Mestalla was hoping for a third consecutive home win, but it was not to be. Valencia led at half-time thanks to Guido Rodríguez's goal in the 12th minute and generally looked the better side against Celta, but the Galicians came out on top after the break, scoring twice in 15 minutes and adding a third later. The Bats managed to score another goal from Guido, but the match ended with a score of 2:3.

Elche – Valencia: Predicted lineups

Elche – Valencia: Author's prediction

Elche and Valencia finished the first round with a 1-1 draw, which sent the Bats to the relegation zone. Now, Sarabia's team is stuck there, desperately needing a win to get a break. But the Franchiverdes haven't beaten Valencia in a long time - their current "unbeaten" run is six games with four losses. Corberan's team is not in the habit of giving gifts, even to opponents who need it more. Nevertheless, Elche can play good football, so if they reduce the number of unforced errors and improve their finishing, the hosts could well get points. I'm not entirely sure about this outcome, although I don't see Valencia winning either.