Overview
Racing Santander is nurturing ambitions to return to the highest league in Spain for the first time since being relegated in the 2011-2012 season. The representative of Cantabria currently leads the Segunda Division standings after 21 rounds, with a record of 11 wins, 5 draws and 5 defeats.
However, Racing's number one position is quite fragile. They are only ranked above Las Palmas thanks to a goal difference and are 2 points ahead of third-placed Almeria, amid signs of slowing down in form.
Racing has just gone through a 4-match winning streak in the tournament, with 3 consecutive 1-1 draws against Leganes, Huesca and Real Valladolid, before losing to Real Zaragoza 2-3 right at home last weekend. This is also their first defeat in the Segunda Division since November 9 last year.
Although they may be focusing their attention on the match against Las Palmas, Racing is now facing the opportunity to try their hand at the cup arena, when they first passed the Copa del Rey round of 32 since the 2013-2014 season. Coach Jose Alberto's team successively defeated SD Logrones and Ponferradina, before making a big splash by eliminating Villarreal with a 2-1 victory, in which Juan Carlos Arana scored a double.
Now, Racing aims to create a big shock when facing Barcelona for the first time in 14 years. The El Sardinero home team craves to win their first victory against the Catalan giants since the 3-0 victory in La Liga in January 2004.
In the opposite direction, Barcelona entered the match with destructive form. Blaugrana has just established a 10-game winning streak in all competitions for the first time since 2016, as a strong response after the 0-3 defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League in November.
Ending 2025 with 7 consecutive victories, Barca opened the new year with a 2-0 victory at Espanyol's stadium, before going to Saudi Arabia to successfully defend the Spanish Super Cup title.
In Jeddah, Barcelona successively crushed Athletic Bilbao 5-0 in the semi-finals and defeated arch-rival Real Madrid in the final. Raphinha shone brightly with a double in a 3-2 victory, thereby helping Barca win the Spanish Super Cup for the third time in the last four seasons.
After the 16th Super Cup title in history, Barcelona shifted their focus to defending the Copa del Rey throne, with the goal of avoiding being eliminated in the round of 16 - something that happened in the 2021-2022 season. The Catalan team participated in the tournament from the round of 32 and struggled to overcome Guadalajara (3rd place) with a score of 2-0.
In the upcoming away match, Barcelona is considered a strong candidate for a ticket to the next round, especially as they have won all seven recent encounters with Racing in official matches. Notably, the last time Barca traveled to El Sardinero, in March 2012, they won 2-0 thanks to a double by Lionel Messi.
Personnel situation
Racing striker Asier Villalibre will not be able to participate due to a hamstring injury in the draw with Real Valladolid earlier this month. Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Arana is also having physical problems, after missing the registered squad in the loss to Zaragoza.
In the previous round against Villarreal, Jose Alberto rotated strongly. Therefore, although he may continue to use a highly competitive squad for the upcoming confrontation, he will still choose to refresh personnel with options such as Pablo Ramon, Mario Garcia and Suleiman Camara.
On Barcelona's side, Andreas Christensen will be sidelined for a long time due to a torn part of his anterior cruciate ligament, while Gavi is still in the rehabilitation phase after knee surgery in September. Frenkie de Jong is also absent due to being suspended for one match, the consequence of the late red card in the Spanish Super Cup final.
After an impressive performance in Saudi Arabia, Hansi Flick is expected to make some squad adjustments. Ronald Araujo, Marc Casado and Marcus Rashford may be given starting spots.
Expected lineup:
Racing Santander: Ezkieta, Mantilla, Ramon, Gonzalez, Garcia, Gueye, Puerta, Sangalli, Canales, Camara, Martin.
Ter Stegen, Garcia, Araujo, Martin, Balde, Casado, Pedri, Bardghji, Olmo, Rashford, Ferran.
The match between Racing Santander and Barcelona takes place at 3:00 AM on January 16 (Vietnam time).
