Elche Vs Real Madrid: Scouting Elche

Elche still have to win their first match of the season. They collected three draws in a row, and that's why they are in the 17th position tied with Osasuna and Almeria.

They have a decent team, but they might lack the depth needed to avoid relegation. Promising defender Alberto Botía, Manu del Moral and Javi Márquez are Elche's most famous players. Edu Albácar is the team's leading scorer, and he plays left back. Therefore, it could be said that Elche lack some firepower upfront. Manu del Moral had a fine scoring season three years ago with Getafe, but he didn't live up to the expectations when he signed for Sevilla.

It will always be hard to beat Elche at their own Martínez Valero stadium. These recently promoted teams always play hard. That's where Elche managed to get a draw against a much-better Real Sociedad team. As always with these smaller teams, Elche are quite strong at defending and attacking set pieces.

They play with long balls even though Del Moral is not a good aerial striker, and that's because they don't have enough quality in the midfield line to create plays and dictate the tempo of the game.

It shouldn't be hard for Real Madrid to dominate the game with Modric's creativity, but Elche could be dangerous off counterattacks because of Del Moral's pace. If Real's strikers are accurate enough, Elche shouldn't be a problem, as they are clearly one of the teams that should be in relegation danger as the season moves on.