After recently lifting the Club World Cup for the fifth time in their history, reigning La Liga champions enter the contest needing a victory to keep the pressure on Xavi’s Barcelona. With the La Liga title race heating up, Ancelotti would look to ensure victory against Elche.
Real Madrid is currently 11 points behind league leaders Barcelona but have a game in hand and could reduce the deficit after the encounter against Elche.
And with history lying in Los Blancos’ favor, the fixture could serve as the perfect opportunity for Real Madrid to bounce back from their previous defeat against Mallorca. The Spanish heavyweights emerged victorious in the return fixture with a scoreline of 3-0, a feat they would look to repeat at the Santiago Bernabeu.
After 19 straight losses in La Liga, Elche picked up their first win of the season with Pere Milla bashing a thunderous hattrick in a 3-1 routing of Villareal. But Milla securing the match ball is the only silver lining in a disastrous campaign for the Spanish side.
Sitting at the bottom of the table, Elche has just 9 points from 20 league games while also possessing the joint-worst goal-scoring record (15 goals scored) and the worst defensive record ( 40 goals conceded).
Los Franjiveredas is 12 points away from safety and to make matters worse they face a team against whom they have conceded 24 goals and have never won a game in 20 attempts in all competitions.
Real Madrid vs Elche CF confirmed line-ups
Real Madrid XI (4-3-3): Lunin; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Nacho; Camavinga, Valverde, Ceballos; Asensio, Rodrygo, Benzema
Elche CF XI (3-4-3): Badia; Gonzalez, Roco, Magallan; Carmona, Guti, Gumbau, Clerc; Fidel, Ponce, Nteka
Real Madrid vs Elche CF LIVE updates
Real Madrid's next La Liga fixtures
Real Madrid faces Osasuna away from home on the 19th of February before traveling to England to lock horns with Liverpool in Round-1 of the Champions League Round of 16 on the 22nd of February. They return to domestic duty as they host city rivals Atletico Madrid on the 25th of February.