2026-2027 La Liga: Deportivo La Coruña vs. Elche—Probable Lineups

While we wait for the league’s top teams to take the field, the first matchday of La Liga features a Monday night clash between Deportivo La Coruña and Elche—two teams whose primary goal for the season is to maintain their place in the top tier of Spanish soccer. The match kicks off at 9 p.m. at Riazor, Depor’s historic home stadium.

On June 23, the Galician club officially changed its name to Deportivo de A Coruña, embracing the tradition of its region and setting aside the Castilian name of the city—which, however, remains in use for practical reasons in international contexts. The team coached by Antonio Hidalgo has returned to the top flight for the first time since 2018: in between came the humiliation of a double relegation to Segunda B (the third division) and a slow climb back up that took Depor first back to the Segunda in 2024 and then, two years later, back to La Liga.

Elche, on the other hand, is one of the representative teams of the Valencian Community, alongside Valencia itself, Villarreal, and Levante. Last year, as a newly promoted team, it managed a hard-fought survival, maintaining a one-point lead over the third-to-last spot at the end of the thirty-eight matchdays. At the helm of the Franjiverdes is Martin Anselmi, who took over from Eder Sarabia: the young Argentine coach, born in 1985, arrives in La Liga after two brief and unsuccessful stints at Porto and Botafogo.

Probable Lineups

DEPORTIVO LA CORUÑA (4-3-1-2): Roman; Navarro, Ede, Noubi, Angelino; Amatucci, Soriano, Villares; Cruz; Nsongo, Aubameyang. Head Coach: Hidalgo.

ELCHE (3-4-3): Dituro; Chust, Bigas, Affengruber; Sangare, Villar, Aguado, Valera; Houary, Nino, Cepeda. Head Coach: Anselmi.