Elche 1-1 Osasuna – Betting Review
Match Summary
Elche managed to gain a rare point in an unsatisfying 1-1 draw at home to Osasuna. They came from behind to earn the draw, but remain without a victory after 18 games and the mood was one of doom and gloom in the stadium at full-time.
The club insists they can improve on the faint hopes of survival as they avoided defeat for the second game in a row, but the sensation in the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero was they see their team playing in the Spanish 2nd division next season.
A confidence-lacking Elche was immediately put under pressure by an Osasuna side in the hunt for a European spot. It took the visitors just 20 minutes to break the deadlock, thanks to a fine header by Ezequiel Ávila following Kike Barja’s cross from the left.
Subjected to a very familiar feeling of falling behind, the home fans were vocal in their disappointment and frustration, something which didn’t help the team in a toothless half.
The host struggled to improve or gain momentum as the minutes rolled by, coming inches away from conceding a second goal. Elche tried hard as usual but proved rather toothless in the final third going into the break.
The second half was a significant improvement for Elche as Pablo Machin’s men mounted pressure on Osasuna, who suddenly appeared uncomfortable.
The home side was the better team but had little more than back-to-back half-chances as Osasuna lost control.
The hosts’ resilience paid dividends after the hour mark following a swift break which saw José Ángel Carmona finish with a first-time shot.
At 1-1, both teams went for the win more than sitting on the point, Osasuna had lost their momentum however and the subs didn’t improve that dynamic.
Elche would have sealed a win if not for Raúl Guti’s late wasteful effort. Despite a spirited comeback, Machin’s side remains winless this campaign, but a draw is fair 1-1.
Betting Analysis
Looking at the 1×2 market first. The favourite for this game Osasuna led but never put the contest to bed and ended up losing control. The draw @ 3.25 was the winning bet here and the right result as neither did enough to merit the 3 points.
Moving onto the Asian handicap market for this contest. Elche +0.25 got a half-win for their backers @ 2.06. As mentioned in the preview, this was a tempting handicap given the importance of the game for the home side. As stated, Osasuna -0.25 @ 1.79 was very unattractive from a value perspective as they’re a one-dimensional side that tends to win games by out-battling the opponent. Out battling Elche was unlikely to be possible here given how much the home team needed a positive result in front of their fans.
Looking at The Under/Over market last of all which was set at 2.25 and offered nothing to attract being drawn in to a bet. The Under paid out as a half-win @ 1.86. The match saw very minimal opportunities of note and was much more of an ‘under’ type game.
