Racing Santander vs Espanyol: both winless for four games, must react at El Sardinero

Racing Santander and Espanyol head into the match with the relegation zone close by, having managed only one point from their last 12 in LaLiga (three losses and a draw across four games). The hosts come off a 2-0 defeat at Osasuna, while Espanyol also lost last time, going down 0-1 to Atlético at the RCDE Stadium.

Home strength, different feel

Racing haven’t won since beating Alavés at El Sardinero on September 19, but they are unbeaten at home and will lean on that to push for three points. José Alberto has almost everyone available except Eriksson, still in recovery; Pablo García is expected to return to the starting XI, with Andrés Martín an option after overcoming physical issues a couple of weeks earlier.

Manolo González under pressure

For Espanyol, another defeat could shake confidence further around Manolo González’s project. Monchi has backed him multiple times, but losing to Racing could intensify the criticism.

Up front, the clash looks set around Zabiri and Roberto Fernández, with seven goals in 562 minutes for Racing and six in 777 for Espanyol. J. I. Pérez’s prediction is Racing 2-1 Espanyol, in a game made hard to forecast by both teams’ urgency.