Preview: Elche vs. Girona - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors will enter the contest off the back of an impressive 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao on Friday, while Elche, who remain bottom of the table, suffered a 2-1 loss to Real Valladolid on Saturday.

Match preview

Elche are still searching for the first victory of the 2022-23 La Liga campaign, with a record of four draws and nine defeats from 13 matches seeing them collect just four points, which has left them rooted to the bottom of the table, already seven points from the safety of 17th position.

Jorge Almiron returned as head coach of the club last month, and he has at least managed to pick up two draws from five matches, and the 51-year-old will have been aware of the job that he was taking on.

Los Franjiverdes picked up a point in a 2-2 draw with Espanyol on October 23, but they have lost their last two, going down 1-0 at home to Getafe before being beaten 2-1 at Real Valladolid on Saturday.

Elche are actually in their third straight campaign in Spain's top flight, which is their best run at this level since the late 1970s, but they will need to have a huge turnaround in form to avoid relegation this term.

The Green-striped ones have two more games before the campaign breaks for the World Cup, following this fixture with a contest against Alcora in the Copa del Rey.

Girona, meanwhile, held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw at Bernabeu on October 30 before following that result up with an impressive 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao on Friday.

David Lopez and Ivan Martin were on the scoresheet for the hosts, who are currently in 13th position in the La Liga table, boasting 13 points from their opening 13 matches.

Girona spent three seasons in the Segunda Division before earning promotion back to this level via the Segunda Division playoffs, and they are now bidding to make it back-to-back campaigns at this level.

The White and Reds will face Quintanar del Rey in the Copa del Rey next Sunday before signing off until the end of December, with their last game of the year scheduled to be at home to Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.

The Catalan side actually faced Elche in the Segunda Division promotion playoffs in August 2020, with Elche running out 1-0 winners over the two legs, while Girona have not beaten their opponents on Tuesday night since a Segunda Division regular-season clash in August 2016.

Elche La Liga form:

D

D

L

D

L

L

Girona La Liga form:

L

D

L

D

D

W

Team News

Elche will again be missing Federico Fernandez, Helibelton Palacios, Javier Pastore and Fidel through injury on Tuesday night, but the home side did not pick up any fresh issues against Real Valladolid.

Gonzalo Verdu was missing last time out, though, and he will need to be assessed ahead of kickoff.

It seems likely that head coach Almiron will make changes to his starting side for this match, with Diego Gonzalez, Josan Fernandez and Raul Guti all in line to start.

Lucas Boye should again lead the line, though, while there are expected to be starts in midfield for both Tete Morente and Omar Mascarell.

As for Girona, Yan Couto, Samuel Saiz, Juanpe, Borja Garcia and Ibrahima Kebe were all missing against Athletic on Friday, and they remain fitness doubts for this contest.

Head coach Michel has no fresh concerns, though, and it would not be a surprise to see the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle last time out.

A 4-5-1 formation should include Toni Villa on the right, with Aleix Garcia, Oriol Romeu and Yangel Herrera featuring in central midfield, and Valentin Castellanos at the tip of the attack.

Elche possible starting lineup:

Badia; Lirola, Roco, D Gonzalez, Clerc; Josan, Mascarell, Milla, Guti, Morente; Boye

Girona possible starting lineup:

Gazzaniga; Martinez, Bueno, D Lopez, Gutierrez; Villa, Herrera, Romeu, A Garcia, Valery; Castellanos

We say: Elche 0-1 Girona

Elche are going to end their winless run at some point, but we are finding it difficult to predict that to happen on Tuesday night. Girona have been impressive in their last two matches, and we are expecting Michel's side to collect another three points in their final league fixture before the break.

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