Granada vs Elche Match Preview & Predictions

Granada vs Elche match preview and predictions for Sunday’s LaLiga match. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as the hosts return to action following a fine European success.

Granada vs Elche Preview

Granada return to domestic matters after a famous European triumph this Sunday. They will hope to avoid being brought back down to earth by relegation threatened Elche but the visitors will no doubt sense an opportunity to take advantage of what may be a European hangover from the hosts.

2-0 up from the 1st Leg, Granada emerged victorious on aggregate in Italy on Thursday night despite a 2-1 defeat in a bad-tempered Europa League tie against Napoli. Angel Montoro’s header proved decisive in Naples and having been paired with Norwegian side Molde in the next round, Diego Martinez’s side now have a real opportunity to go on and make more history in their debut European campaign.

There is clearly a danger that their league form may suffer from their cup exploits, and arguably it already has. Granada rested a host of players as they fell to a 3-2 defeat at Huesca last weekend and they’ve gone 6 without a win in LaLiga. They are still comfortably placed in 9th though and with no midweek fixture this coming week, they’ve no reason to rotate quite so heavily this time around.

They take on an Elche side that made a winning start under their new boss Fran Escriba last weekend. In his first game back at the club he previously enjoyed a very successful stint in charge of, Escriba guided Elche to a 1-0 win over Eibar, their first victory in LaLiga since October. They were beaten 3-0 at Camp Nou in midweek but this game offers a much more realistic opportunity to add to their points tally.

Looking at their squad, there are still genuine worries for Elche about just who is going to step up and be the player that provides that spark which could turn their season around. They are short on quality but look relatively organised most weeks with a 4-4-2 formation seemingly going to be their approach under Escriba.

Head to Head

• Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 3 Granada Wins, 1 Elche Win, 2 Draws.
• Granada won the reverse fixture 1-0 earlier this term.
• They’ve won all of the last 3 meetings at Los Carmenes.
• Elche had been reduced to 10 men on 4 of their last 5 league visits.

Team News

German Sanchez is suspended for the hosts while Darwin Machis, Maxime Gonalons and Carlos Neva are injury doubts. Luis Milla and Luis Suarez are definitely out again.

Josan is out for the visitors but Ivan Marcone returns from a ban and should start.

Predicted Granada Starting Lineup:

Silva – Marin, Nehuen, Duarte, Foulquier – Montoro, Eteki, Quina – Kenedy, Molina, Puertas (4-3-3)

Predicted Elche Starting Lineup:

Badia – Mojica, Calvo, Verdu, Barragan – Rigoni, Marcone, Guti, Morente – Carrillo, Boye (4-4-2)

Granada vs Elche Predictions

LaLiga Expert Predicts: Granada 1-1 Elche

Granada will surely be a bit tired after their huge effort in Naples and they do have a number of injury problems which will limit Diego Martinez’s options. Elche look to have found a response under Escriba and they might just nick a result here although it’s hard to see them winning the game.

Read all our latest LaLiga match previews here (we cover every game). See BeGambleAware for more on responsible gambling.