La Liga 2026–2027: Elche vs. Barcelona—Probable Lineups

La Liga is in full swing, and on Matchday 2, it’s time for the season debut of Barcelona, the reigning Spanish champions for the second consecutive year. The Blaugrana will make their season debut on the road against Elche, in a match that, on paper, seems like a clear-cut affair but still hides some pitfalls. The match is scheduled for Sunday, August 23, at 9:30 p.m. at Martinez Valero Stadium.

Like Real Madrid and other La Liga teams, Barcelona has also been granted permission to skip the first matchday of the league season. That round will be rescheduled later, allowing players who participated in the World Cup to have a few extra days to recover after their commitments with their respective national teams. Barcelona can in fact count on several players returning from international competition, and not just Spaniards. Among them are England’s Gordon and France’s Koundé.

Elche, on the other hand, has already started its season. The Alicante-based team made its debut with a 1-1 draw on the road against Deportivo, earning an important point away from home. Martin Anselmi’s squad narrowly avoided relegation on the very last matchday. Despite an excellent start to the season, Elche remains among the teams considered potential candidates for relegation.

Elche vs. Barcelona, probable lineups

Elche (3-4-2-1): Dituro, Affengruber, Bigas, Chust, Morente, Villar, Aguado, Valera, Buonanotte, Neto, Fer. Head Coach: Martin Anselmi.

Barcelona (4-3-3): J. Garcia, Koundé, Cubarsí, E. Garcia, Balde, Gavi, Bernal, Fermín, L. Yamal, Adeyemi, Raphinha. Head Coach: Hansi Flick