Elche Vs Barcelona Preview, La Liga: Match Prediction, Players To Watch – All You Need To Know

Hansi Flick is not yet prepared to commit his future to Barcelona if Joan Laporta ceases to be their president, though he reiterated his happiness ahead of Saturday's trip to Elche.

A presidential election at Barcelona is set to take place in March, with Laporta running to continue his second stint in the role.

Flick led Barcelona to the LaLiga title in his first season in charge, and his side are favourites again this term as they sit top of the pile with a one-point advantage over Real Madrid.

They can extend that gap to four points on Saturday, with Madrid not facing Rayo Vallecano until Sunday, and Flick is only focused on the game in front of him.

"This is the future. For now, I'm here and happy to work for this club," Flick said when asked about the possible consequences of the election.

"We'll see; I can't answer these questions with 100% certainty.

"As I said before, it's very important that we have stability at this club, and everything surrounding the team is going very well.

"We don't have a lot of money to spend on signings, and everything we're doing is very good. We're developing players from La Masia, the team atmosphere is great, the fans support us, and there's a strong connection. It's all about stability, and I think that's what's best for this club in the future."

They travel to Elche on Saturday, with their hosts winless in their last four league games (D2 L2) since a 4-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano in mid-December.

Barcelona, meanwhile, have lost just one of their last 11 LaLiga matches, and they come into this game on the back of a 4-1 victory over Copenhagen in the Champions League.

They had to come from behind in that match, with Jules Kounde gifting Copenhagen a fourth-minute opener, and Flick is confident his team have the right attitude to keep fighting no matter what.

"Ultimately, we're at Barca, it's normal to want to win every title," Flick added. "LaLiga, the Copa del Rey, the Champions League — it's not easy.

"We have to work hard and do things better than in the past. For me, it's important that now every match is crucial, every single one, every three or four days.

"There's no room to wait and see how the game unfolds; we have to start strong from the beginning and not wait until the end of matches. Our attitude and mentality are good, and that's one of our greatest strengths."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Elche – Alvaro Rodriguez

Rodriguez has been involved in eight goals for Elche in LaLiga in 2025-26 (four goals and four assists), in 18 matches.

That is twice as many as he managed in his previous three campaigns in the competition combined (three goals and one assist in 29 games).

Barcelona – Dani Olmo

Olmo has scored five goals in his last five LaLiga appearances for Barcelona, who lost the only match in which he did not score during this period (against Real Sociedad in San Sebastian).

Barcelona have won every single LaLiga game in which he has scored (W14) since his arrival in 2024.

MATCH PREDICTION: BARCELONA WIN

After taking points from 17 of their first 28 matches against Barcelona in LaLiga (W8 D9 L11), Elche have now lost 18 of their last 21 encounters against the Blaugrana in the competition (D3), including each of the last nine.

And Barcelona have avoided defeat on each of their last 10 visits to Elche in LaLiga (W7 D3), keeping a clean sheet in seven of those games, while they are on their longest winning streak away from home against Elche in the competition (W4).

Barca have avoided defeat in each of their last 18 away games against teams from the Valencian Community in LaLiga (W16 D2), since a 2-0 defeat against Valencia in January 2020, and are on their longest scoring run away from home against these sides in the top flight (18 matches).

Elche have lost just one of their last 15 home games in LaLiga (W7 D7 L1), a 1-3 defeat against Villarreal on January 3, and have scored at least one goal in each of their last six home matches (13 goals in total).

That form bodes well for Elche, especially considering Barcelona have lost three of their last seven away games in LaLiga (W4), one more defeat than they suffered in their previous 25 away matches in the competition (W19 D4 L2). However, Flick's side are still clear favourites. 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Elche – 14.9%

Draw – 18.1%

Barcelona – 67%