Previews
FRI 21.02.2014
Elche travel to the Santiago Bernabéu to take on Real Madrid for matchday 25 of the Liga BBVA. The Whites need all three points in order to stay in the title race with Barcelona and Atlético Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti's men are enjoying their best run of form at the moment, having gone 25 matches unbeaten. As a result they have equalled the second longest unbeaten streak in the club's history. However, the Italian coach is well aware that Elche is "a team that can cause problems". "I'm not sure what the starting line up will be on Saturday, we need to wait for the Competition Committee's decision on Cristiano's suspension first", Ancelotti stated. Luka Modrić will be unavailable for selection due to a suspension.
Carles Gil returns for the away side while Cristian Săpunaru is out injured and Damián Suárez and Carlos Sanchez are both suspended because of an accumulation of bookings. Nevertheless, Fran Escribá is confident about his side's chances. "We pushed them to their limits here and we'll try to do the same thing again this time. Hopefully we can get a good result and treat the fans who travel with us and make their trip home a celebratory one", the Elche manager stated.
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