🏏 Sun, 18 Oct 2026 14:00 CEST
Osasuna
vs
Racing Santander
4-3-3 vs 4-2-3-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Few fixtures are as perfectly balanced as this one: Racing Santander sit 15th and Osasuna 16th, both on eight points, both with a goal difference of minus 10, and both carrying identical records of two wins, two draws and four defeats from eight matches. Only a single point separates them from Elche in 18th, while Barcelona have already banked 27 points at the summit.
- Osasuna arrive in grim form, taking one point from their last five league games. They were beaten 4-0 at Atletico Madrid in round six and 5-2 at Real Betis in round eight, and have managed just eight goals while conceding 18. Their only point in that run came at home, a 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano in round seven.
- Racing, newly promoted, are the more volatile side with 13 scored and 23 conceded. They were hammered 7-2 at Barcelona and 5-0 at Celta Vigo, yet beat Alaves 2-1 at home in round five and held Valencia to a 2-2 draw in round eight. Their capacity to score is real; their defensive resistance is not yet.
- Sergio Canales, 35, is the conductor of everything Racing do going forward. The Santander native returned home after a career at Real Madrid, Valencia, Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Monterrey, and he takes the penalties, free-kicks and corners. He shares dead-ball duty with Inigo Vicente, who produced nine goals and 21 assists during the promotion campaign and was raised in Athletic Club's academy.
- With only eight goals in eight games, Osasuna will lean on their aerial power. Ante Budimir, the 35-year-old Croatia international, stands 190cm and builds his game around heading and hold-up play, while 194cm centre-back Catena, a promotion winner with Rayo Vallecano, is a genuine set-piece threat. Raul Garcia, 192cm and a Copa del Rey winner with Betis, waits on the bench.
- There is an intriguing contrast between the goalkeepers. Osasuna hand the gloves to 35-year-old Aitor Fernandez, for years the first choice at Levante, leaving 192cm Sergio Herrera among the substitutes. Racing counter with 25-year-old Jokin Agirrezabala, an Athletic Club academy product involved in their 2023-24 Copa del Rey triumph, a left-footed keeper comfortable playing out from the back.
- The shape battle pits Osasuna's three-man midfield in a 4-3-3 against Racing's double pivot in a 4-2-3-1. Moncayola, the 189cm homegrown all-rounder, and 23-year-old academy anchor Iker Munoz handle the destructive work, with 32-year-old Moi Gomez, a Europa League winner at Villarreal, supplying the forward passes. For Racing, left-footed Ivan Martin, previously a creative hub at Girona, drops deep to start moves.
- Both flanks offer clear duels. Osasuna's right-back Valentin Rosier, 30, won the Turkish league with Besiktas and attacks the overlap with real pace; he will be tested by Jorge Salinas, the 19-year-old Santander-born left-back. On the other side, 26-year-old Alvaro Mantilla, an aggressive and physical right-back, must deal with Ruben Garcia, the 33-year-old left-footer with more than 300 LaLiga appearances who loves to cut inside.
- The benches could decide a tight game. Racing hold back Andres Martin, top scorer with 17 goals in their promotion season and the team's second penalty taker, plus Spain Under-21 winger Pablo Garcia, a left-footed Betis academy graduate. Osasuna can call on 31-year-old Raul Moro, formerly of Ajax and Lazio, and the 192cm Raul Garcia for a late aerial push.