- Home form: Racing Santander are unbeaten in 1 home league game in LaLiga 2026/2027, but they are still seeking their first home win.
- Away form: Elche are unbeaten on the road in LaLiga 2026/2027, drawing 1 from 1.
- Run: Elche are undefeated in their last 5 games in all competitions, but have drawn their last 4 in a row.
Tight game in prospect as Racing and Elche do battle
Racing Santander have been priced as slight favorites for this game against Elche at 2.5 ahead of the visitors at 2.75, but both teams are locked in at 1 point apiece after 1 game each played in the new campaign.
Racing are 7th in the LaLiga 2026/2027 standings and are level with Elche, who are 10th, and this looks like a tough contest between two solid teams who are trying to work out their identity in the early stages of the new season.
The home side have registered 1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats from their last 5 in all competitions, beating Sporting Gijon 4-1 in their first league game at home before following up with a 1-1 home draw against Deportivo Alaves that they subsequently lost on penalties. They then drew 2-2 with Villarreal in LaLiga.
Tactical contrast could create a traffic jam
Recent form
Elche are on a 4-game draw streak and that stat is starting to look more impressive than the visitors' current unbeaten run.
Managers and systems
José López is a passionate and fiery individual who took charge of Racing since 12 December 2022 and has implemented his high-tempo, counter-pressing 4-2-3-1 system that suits the squad well.
He likes his side to play short passes in the attacking third before pressing the opponent into submission when out of possession. That should be in stark contrast to Elche's possession-based system and 5-man defence that can play with the wing-backs quite high up the field when they have the ball. Martín Anselmi has been in charge since 1 July 2026 and is also an expressive character who has his team set up to build from the back and get the ball back when they lose it quickly.
Key players
- Andres Martin has provided Racing's biggest spark so far with 1 goal from 1 game in the league while Gonzalo Villar has been Elche's biggest threat with 1 assist.
Under 2.5 goals looks good at 1.8
The 3.3 Draw looks generous, but I'm with the Under 2.5 goals bet here at 1.8 as it seems likely that this will be a tense and tight contest.
Racing have been fairly open at home in this competition so far, scoring 2.00 and conceding 2.00 per game, but Elche have defended well on the road in 2026/2027, conceding just 1.00 per game.
