On Wednesday night, Eibar host Elche at the Estadio Municipal de Ipurua, as both teams look to kick-start their La Liga campaigns.
Eibar kicked off their league season with a goalless draw against Celta Vigo. Since the draw, they have suffered defeat against both Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao. The results mean that Jose Mendilibar’s team has won just two of their last nine league outings, having failed to win in four games in the Spanish top-flight.
Their most recent matches in La Liga have been high-scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored in four of their last five league outings. Unfortunately for the home team, they have conceded at least two goals in four of their last five matches.
Eibar have struggled for victories at the Ipurua of late, having recorded just one win in their previous five home games in the Spanish top-flight. The fact that they have failed to score in three of those five league matches on home soil has certainly been a factor in that poor home record.
Elche have played just one game since their return to La Liga, suffering a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Real Sociedad. The visitors have not featured in the Spanish top-flight since season 2014/15 and will be looking to fare better this time around.
However, they are now four games without a win dating back to their last spell among Spain’s elite clubs.
Scoring goals was a problem in their last spell in La Liga and the visitors will look to the experience of 40-year-old forward Nino in the final third of the pitch.
The recent history of this fixture favours Eibar, as Elche have won just once in the last six meetings between the two teams.
However, Forebet predicts that Elche will pick up their first point of the season in a low-scoring draw, which will do little to elevate either team in the Spanish top-flight table.