- Team standing: Athletic Bilbao are 7th in LaLiga 2026/2027 after 4 games, with 6 points.
- Opposition standing: Elche are 19th in the same league table after 3 games, with just 1 point.
Athletic Bilbao have a knack for Elche
Athletic Bilbao are the clear favorites to beat Elche at 1.52 in LaLiga 2026/2027, but Los Leones do not have such a great record in the head-to-head between these sides. Athletic Bilbao have won once, Elche once and 1 draw in the last 3 meetings, which hardly adds up to a easy game for the hosts.
Nevertheless, Athletic Bilbao have won 2 and lost 3 of their last 5, so they are in better form than Elche, who have drawn 3 and lost 2 of their own last 5 in all competitions. The visitors have yet to win away in 2 trips in this LaLiga 2026/2027 season, drawing 1 and losing 1.
Elche's last 3 games in this campaign have seen them draw 1-1 at Deportivo, before being torn apart in a 0-5 home defeat by Barcelona and losing 3-2 at Racing Santander in their most recent game.
Athletic Bilbao have the edge
Recent form
Athletic Bilbao's recent 3 LaLiga 2026/2027 results have been a 2-0 defeat at Barcelona, a 2-0 win away at Celta and a 3-0 home win over Atletico Madrid. Athletic Bilbao have won 1 and lost 1 of their 2 home games in this season, conceding 3 goals, and the visitors have averaged 1.50 goals scored and 2.00 goals conceded in their 2 away games in the same competition.
Key players
- Aitor Paredes is top scorer for Athletic Bilbao with 1 goal in 2 appearances in this competition, while Buba Sangare has Elche's top goals with 1 in 3, which gives the home side the edge in the front line, but also a threat from the back line too.
- Robert Navarro is a livewire for Athletic Bilbao and has been involved in 3 of their 9 goals across the last 5 matches in all competitions (G3, A0).
- Gonzalo Villar is a good player and has added a little creativity in midfield for Elche in this new campaign, with 1 assist in 3 games.
Tactical battle
Elche play from a compact 3-man backline, with Martin Anselmi preferring a high-press and lots of width from the wing-backs, while Edin Terzic prefers Athletic Bilbao to press high and make their numbers in transition. The middle third could be a scrap here and we'll side with Athletic Bilbao to win with under 3.5 goals in the game.
Odds & verdict
The draw is 4.0, Elche are 6.0 and Athletic Bilbao are 1.52, so the odds are heavily stacked against the visitor's chances here. However, both teams to score is a similar price to the home win in 90 minutes, so we will go with Athletic Bilbao to come out on top.
The hosts have scored 1.0 goals per home game against Elche and the same away from Elche in the last 3 head-to-heads, so this game should be close with no runaway game. But we're not sure that it's enough to trouble them in a straight bet, and the 1.52 odds on Athletic Bilbao are far too low for us.
