Real Madrid and Elche go head-to-head in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday night.
Sitting second in the table with 63 points from 27 matches, four points behind league leaders Barcelona, Los Blancos are heavily favoured to come out on top of this matchup.
Elche, however, came close to pulling off an upset when these two sides met earlier in the season, with only a late Jude Bellingham goal denying them a famous victory at home.
Real Madrid vs Elche – Match preview and team news
- Date: Saturday, 14th March
- Kick-off: 8pm BST
- Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
- Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano
- Last meeting: Elche 2-2 Real Madrid, LaLiga, 23rd November 2025
Real Madrid team news
Alvaro Arbeloa’s side comes into the fixture with a lengthy injury list, as Kylian Mbappe, Eder Militao, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo Goes, Ferland Mendy, David Alaba, Dani Ceballos and Alvaro Carreras are all sidelined.
Mbappe has been ruled out of this game as he works to return in time for Real Madrid’s upcoming Champions League tie against Manchester City, with the club confident he will be back for that fixture but unwilling to take a risk this weekend.
Franco Mastantuono, the Argentine attacker, remains suspended and will not feature in this match.
Arbeloa might also decide to rotate the squad due to their important Champions League round of 16 second leg match in three days.
Elche team news
Hector Fort, Pedro Bigas and John Donald are all doubtful for their trip to Madrid and might miss this match.
Alvaro Rodriguez, the 21-year-old is expected to take up a role in the front line at the Bernabeu.
Andre Silva is also likely to retain his place in attack, while David Affengruber – who has reportedly attracted interest from several top clubs – is set to line up in central defence.
Arda Guler now ranks second in La Liga with 13 big chances created so far and also second in assists made with eight assists. He will once more look to make a positive impact and keep Real Madrid within touching distance of Barcelona.
Form
Real Madrid: LWLWW
Real won their Champions League round of 16 first leg match against Manchester City convincingly. But earlier, their back-to-back defeats in the league have put them four points behind Barcelona. Their last league outing against Celta Vigo resulted in a dramatic 2-1 win where Federico Valverde scored an injury-time winner.
Elche: LDLDL
The Franjiverdes are deep in a relegation battle, sitting just one point above the dropzone. They have not won a single game in 2026, losing six of their last ten league matches and drawing the other four.
Predicted lineups
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Asencio, Huijsen, F Garcia; Valverde, Camavinga, Tchouameni; Guler; Vinicius, Brahim
Elche: Dituro; Chust, Affengruber, Petrot; Josan, Febas, Aguado, Valera; Neto; A Silva, Rodriguez
How to watch Real Madrid vs Elche?
In the UK, Real Madrid vs Elche is being shown live on Disney+.
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