🏏 Sun, 11 Oct 2026 21:00 CEST
Racing Santander
vs
Valencia
4-1-4-1 vs 5-4-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- This is already a relegation-flavoured fixture at matchday 8: 16th-placed Racing Santander (seven games, seven points, goal difference -10) host bottom club Valencia (four points, -9). Only three points separate them, and the bottom half is tightly packed with Elche on six, Levante on five and Malaga on four. Neither the promoted side nor the fallen heavyweight can afford to drift any lower.
- The two teams fail in opposite ways. Racing have scored 11 in seven matches but shipped 21, one of the division's worst defensive records, while Valencia have conceded a more respectable 13 yet mustered only four goals all season. Whichever flaw surfaces first - Racing's porous back line or Valencia's silent attack - will likely decide the evening.
- Racing's last five read W-L-W-L-L, with a startling home-away split. At El Sardinero they edged Elche 3-2 and Alaves 2-1; on the road they were hammered 7-2 at Barcelona in round six and 5-0 at Celta Vigo in round seven, 12 goals conceded in two trips. Being back in Santander is one of the few things working in their favour.
- Valencia arrive on L-L-L-W-L, their solitary win a 1-0 success at Alaves in round six. They were beaten 5-0 at home by Barcelona in round four and lost 3-2 at Mestalla to Real Sociedad in round seven. Both sides have been taken apart by leaders Barcelona, who sit on 24 points from eight games, and both are still searching for defensive stability.
- Racing's reference point is 35-year-old Sergio Canales, a Santander native who returned to his boyhood club as the summer's marquee signing and takes penalties, free-kicks and corners. Valencia feature on his list of former clubs, alongside Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Monterrey, so this is a reunion with one of the many stops in a long La Liga career.
- There is history between the posts too. Racing's Julen Agirrezabala (25, 187cm) is a left-footed goalkeeper comfortable in possession who came through Athletic Club's academy and helped them to the 2023-24 Copa del Rey. Valencia also appear among his previous clubs, making this another homecoming of sorts. At the other end stands Stole Dimitrievski, 32, long-serving North Macedonia number one with Rayo Vallecano and Granada behind him.
- Racing's creativity flows through the second line of their 4-2-3-1. Inigo Vicente (28, an Athletic Club academy product who produced nine goals and 21 assists in the promotion season) shares set-piece duty with Canales, while Portuguese playmaker Andre Almeida (26) handles the tight spaces. Behind them sit 22-year-old Prati and left-footed technician Ivan Martin (27), previously at Girona, Villarreal and Alaves.
- Valencia counter with a 4-5-1, packing five across midfield and leaving Hugo Duro (26, left-footed, a Getafe academy graduate who top-scored with 13 in 2023-24) alone up front. Pepelu, the 185cm midfielder signed from rivals Levante, 187cm academy graduate Javi Guerra (23) and Uruguayan Gaston Rodriguez (32) provide the physical core, with Young Boys alumnus Filip Ugrinic (27) covering ground box to box.
- The flanks promise an absorbing duel. Valencia right-back Pablo Maffeo (29, just 172cm) learned his trade at Manchester City and specialises in aggressive man-marking, while 31-year-old captain Jose Gaya attacks from the left with the delivery that made him a Spain international. Racing answer with 19-year-old Santander-born left-back Jorge Salinas and the combative Alvaro Mantilla (26) on the right.
- Both benches carry genuine threat. Racing can call on Andres Martin (27), the Rayo Vallecano product who scored a team-high 17 in the promotion campaign and takes the second penalty, plus Spain Under-21 winger Pablo Garcia (26), a left-footed Betis academy graduate. Valencia hold back Netherlands international Arnaut Danjuma (29), formerly of Villarreal and Tottenham, and Harvey Elliott (23), the left-footed creator on loan from Liverpool.