Elche vs Las Palmas

Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero sets the stage for a low-profile Copa del Rey last-32 tie between second-tier Elche and La Liga bottom-half underachievers Las Palmas. 

Elche’s road to the Copa del Rey round of 32 has been plain sailing as they’ve ousted lower-league CD Coria and Yeclano in the opening two rounds without conceding. A narrow 1-0 victory against the latter forms part of Elche’s promising-looking eight-game unbeaten streak in all competitions (W5, D3), bookended by a 2-0 league win at Castellon in their final game in 2024. Further confidence comes from Los Franjiverdes’ impressive home form that has seen them win their last three matches via a combined score of 9-1, netting 2+ goals on each occasion. However, they’ve stuttered in this fixture. Except for a 3-1 win in 2012, they’ve failed to beat Las Palmas in seven of their last eight home meetings (D3, L4). 

On the other hand, Las Palmas dismantled sub-par Ontinena 7-0 in the first Copa del Rey round before squeaking past Europa 2-1 to set up this tie. Like Elche, Diego Martinez’s side finished the last calendar year on a high, piecing together a five-game unbeaten run (W4, D1), including a slender 1-0 home triumph against fellow La Liga strugglers Espanyol at the tail-end of 2024. That was their second consecutive clean sheet following a spirited 0-0 draw at Real Sociedad on their last top-flight road trip, which knocked them down from a three-match winning away streak. Interestingly, each win in that sequence came by 2+ goals ‘to one,’ suggesting Las Palmas’ frontline must be at its best to secure progression.