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

Elche's best effort in Spain's domestic cup came when finishing as runners-up in 1969, while Girona reached the quarter-finals in 2019.

Match preview

Having finished bottom of La Liga last season, Elche may view the Copa Del Rey as an excellent opportunity to prove that they still belong at the top level. They could scarcely have asked for a better opportunity in that regard than facing the most in-form team in the country.

Despite being unable to save Elche from relegation after taking over as manager in March earlier this year, Sebastian Beccacece remains in charge of Elche. This is the 43-year-old's first managerial job in Europe, having previously led sides in Chile and his homeland Argentina.

Although Elche sit in the bottom half of the Segunda Division after 21 matches, their hopes of instantly bouncing back to La Liga are far from over. Spain's second tier is an incredibly tight one this season, with league leaders Leganes only nine points ahead of Elche despite there being 10 teams sandwiched in between them.

After only collecting one point from their final three games before the winter break, Beccacece will be hoping that his players can use the turn of the year as a fresh impetus to kick-start their promotion charge. Upsetting La Liga's joint-leaders on Saturday would certainly represent an excellent start on that front.

Indeed, Girona have captured the hearts of football fans across the world by keeping pace with Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. The White and Reds remained level on points with Los Blancos by dispatching Atletico Madrid 4-3 on Wednesday evening.

In a typically pulsating fixture for free-flowing Girona this season, former Manchester United defender Daley Blind's strike six minutes before half-time appeared to have given the hosts all three points by putting them 3-1 ahead. However, Alvaro Morata pulled one back before half-time, before completing his hat-trick after the break. With time running out, Ivan Martin's injury time effort secured a dramatic victory for his side.

That win moved Girona 10 points clear of Atletico in the table, suggesting that Michel's side should have more than enough about them to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their history. While replicating 48 points from 19 matches across the second half of the season may prove to be an impossible task, the same could prove to be true for Real Madrid, who will be involved in the latter stages of the Champions League from next month.

As such, Michel and his players may view the Copa Del Rey as an unwanted distraction while hunting for a domestic title triumph that would compete with Leicester City in the English Premier League as one of the most surprising achievements in living memory. That said, Girona have never won this competition before either, and they will certainly fancy their chances of dispatching second tier opposition on current form.

Elche Copa del Rey form:

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Elche form (all competitions):

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Girona Copa del Rey form:

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Girona form (all competitions):

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Team News

Elche will remain without their key forward Oscar Plano due to a ligament injury. The 32-year-old has scored five goals in 13 appearances this season, but he is not expected to return until late February after being withdrawn against Mirandes in their last game.

Beccacece is likely to pick his strongest starting XI given that his side have a whole week to prepare for their opening league fixture of the calendar year against Tenerife next weekend. Borja Garces, who is on loan from Atletico, could replace Plano in attack.

Girona, on the other hand, may look to rotate after being involved in a draining encounter against Atletico on Wednesday evening. That could mean the likes of Savio, Artem Dovbyk and Blind being protected, but they will almost certainly provide options from the bench if required.

As such, former Middlesbrough striker Cristhian Stuani could return to the starting XI after only being used from the bench last time out. The 37-year-old, who is club captain, has scored six league goals despite only starting on five occasions this season.

However, Michel may be unable to call upon the services of David Lopez, Viktor Tysgankov, Yangel Herrera, Borja Garcia, Joel Roca Casals, Ricard Artero, and Toni Villa due to injury.

Elche possible starting lineup:

San Roman; Carreira, Bigas, Clerc; Fidel, Mario, Mendoza, Febas, Morente; Garces, Daoudi

Girona possible starting lineup:

Carlos; Martinez, Yaakobishvili, Juanpe, Gutierrez; Kebe, Solis; Portu, Martin, Fernandez; Stuani

We say: Elche 1-2 Girona

Should Girona rotate their starting line-up after their demanding victory against Atletico less than 72 hours prior to this cup fixture, Elche's chances of causing an upset will clearly increase.

However, the visitors have serious momentum at the moment and may fancy adding a cup run as another string to their bow this season. Their victories rarely come easily, and Saturday's trip to Elche could prove to be more of the same.

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