Real Madrid travel to Elche on Tuesday aiming for a third consecutive victory in all competitions, with Jose Mourinho’s team looking to keep pace with Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
The visitors are second, three points behind the leaders, while Elche are 19th and have the second-worst defensive record in the division. The match will be played at the Martinez Valero, where Real Madrid drew 2-2 on their most recent visit.
Elche’s campaign has followed a turbulent summer in which manager Eder Sarabia resigned and several key players, including David Affengruber and Aleix Febas, left the club. Martin Anselmi, formerly of Porto and Botafogo, was retained for a second successive season in La Liga but has begun his latest spell with five matches without a win.
After drawing with Deportivo La Coruna, Elche lost three in a row against Barcelona, Racing Santander and Real Sociedad, who played much of that match with 10 men. They appeared on course for their first win of the season at San Mames when Facundo Buonanotte scored a 50th-minute penalty, but Inaki Williams equalised for Athletic Bilbao just before the 80th minute.
That 1-1 draw was a respectable result, although Anselmi will be concerned by his side’s position and their 13 goals conceded in five matches. Elche have not beaten Real Madrid for 48 years, and repeating last season’s draw at the Martinez Valero may be a more realistic target than ending that run.
Real Madrid have won four of their five league games since Mourinho returned to the dugout. They scored 10 goals in three successive victories before losing 1-0 away to Real Betis, where a Carlos Espi goal was disallowed and Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty.
They responded by beating Inter Milan, Mourinho’s former club, 2-1 in their opening match of their pursuit of a 16th Champions League title. A 4-1 win over Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu followed, with Mbappe scoring twice and Alvaro Carreras and Jude Bellingham also finding the net.
It was Real Madrid’s third consecutive home game with four goals, in contrast to the two they have scored across their first two away fixtures. They have won six of their past eight visits to the Martinez Valero since losing 3-1 there in March 1978.
Team news
Yago Santiago is nearing the end of his recovery from knee surgery but is not expected to return before the international break. Kevin Lomonaco could be included for the first time since joining from Independiente on the final day of the transfer window. Thomas Lemar, formerly of Atletico Madrid, is pushing for a starting place after appearing as a substitute in the past two matches.
Real Madrid remain without injured defenders Eder Militao and Ferland Mendy, as well as Rodrygo. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and Marc Cucurella could be brought into the defence, while Eduardo Camavinga and Arda Guler are candidates to start if Mourinho rotates his midfield and attack.
Yan Diomande, who joined from RB Leipzig in August 2026 for a club-record transfer estimated at 125m euros, may begin on the bench after starting the previous match.
Probable teams: Elche – Dituro; Sangare, Redondo, Chust, Revivo; Valera, Morcillo, Villar, Moreno; Lemar; Nino.
Real Madrid – Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Valverde, Camavinga; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe.
Real Madrid are tipped to win 3-1 before Sunday’s Madrid derby. Suggested bets include Real Madrid and over 2.5 goals at 1.46, Mbappe to score at 1.40 and both teams to score at 1.60. The exact-score selection of 1-3 is priced at 8.50 with Betclic.