- Villarreal have won two of the last three H2H meetings with no draws.
- Villarreal have scored freely in spells during LaLiga 2026/2027, but are on a two-match winning streak.
- Elche have scored seven goals in their four LaLiga 2026/2027 away games so far, so will keep the game bubbling along.
Yellow Submarines versus Franjiverdes
Villarreal CF come into this weekend's game against Elche as the cleaner side on paper with eight points from seven matches to stand 9th in LaLiga 2026/2027, compared to Elche's five-point tally in 18th. However, Elche are still competitive and the hosts are not quite making the grade, so we may well be in for a very close contest at Estadio de la Ceramica.
Íñigo Pérez's Villarreal have been slow out of the blocks and they come into this one after a run of two wins and three defeats from their last five games. However, that run did include back-to-back wins over Malaga CF (3-1) and Levante (3-1), so the Submarino Amarillo are starting to get into their stride and will surely get chances against Elche.
Pape Gueye has been Villarreal's most reliable goalscorer in LaLiga 2026/2027, with three in seven games, and he is a real threat as a runner from midfield who can nick a goal late in the box. Elche are most dangerous from the left with Fer Nino, who has five goals in seven league games, while Tete Morente has three assists in the last five.
Elche can enter the game
Martín Anselmi wants his Elche side to have the ball as much as possible, recover it quickly and counter-press in order to stay on the front foot as much as they can. Villarreal are more of a compact, structured side that can also be a threat from pressing triggers, so this looks like a chess match of pressing versus possession.
The odds of 21/50 on Villarreal as clear favourite are a bit skinny for our taste and the Elche price of 11/2 is a bit on the high side, so the draw at 37/10 looks like a playable option. However, the main selection for the match is over 2.5 goals at 12/25 because Elche's recent three-game sequence of results (1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao, 2-3 home defeat to Real Madrid and 1-3 win at Espanyol) suggests they can enter this game.
Villarreal look likelier to nick it at home, but Elche have enough of a scoring punch to ensure both teams to score comes in at 31/50 as a side bet.
