Athletic Club vs Elche

Athletic Club will host Elche on Saturday, September 12, as both sides look to kickstart their 2026-27 La Liga campaigns in this Round 5 encounter. With the visitors still searching for their first league victory, crucial points are on the line for both clubs.

Team News and Injury Latest

Elche arrive with several significant fitness concerns that will stretch their squad depth. Forward Adam Boayar is sidelined with a muscle issue, while midfielder Yago Santiago misses out due to a knee injury. There are also doubts over Fernando Niño and Thomas Lemar, both of whom have been dealing with physical discomfort in the build-up to the fixture. Elche's creative burden will consequently fall on their available core to supply from the wings.

Athletic Club appear to have a cleaner bill of health, though they will need to rely on the attacking output of Alex Berenguer, who has already created five chances this season, alongside the creative passing of Inigo Ruiz De Galarreta to break down the visitors' defensive structure.

Elche's Early Season Form Guide

It has been a difficult start to the La Liga campaign for Elche, who remain winless after their opening fixtures and have conceded nine goals in their first three outings. Despite maintaining a healthy 55.7 percent average possession and completing 85.6 percent of their passes during those matches, costly errors have undone their good work, with three mistakes directly leading to goals. Midfielder Marc Aguado has provided a rare bright spot, netting one of the team's three league goals so far, but defensive frailties have left them stranded near the bottom of the table.

Key Battle: Inaki Williams vs the Elche Defence

Athletic Club will look to exploit Elche's leaky backline, and Inaki Williams could be the man to do the damage. The versatile forward has already registered four shots on target this season and continues to be a persistent threat to opposition goalkeepers. If Williams can convert his consistent pressure into goals, it could be a long afternoon for an Elche side that has conceded in three consecutive matches and suffered a bruising 5-0 defeat to Barcelona earlier in the campaign.

A victory for Athletic Club would help them climb towards the top half of the table after a mixed start that included a 2-0 defeat of their own against Barcelona. For Elche, securing a positive result on the road is vital to escape the relegation places and build some much-needed momentum ahead of a challenging autumn schedule.