- Villarreal CF have won two, drawn one and lost three of their six away fixtures in all competitions this season (W2, D1, L3).
- Racing Santander have won four, drawn two and lost four of their ten matches in all competitions this term (W4, D2, L4).
- Racing beat Villarreal 2-1 at home in the Copa del Rey 2025/2026 seven months ago.
Yellow Submarines have the edge
Villarreal CF enter Sunday's game at Estadio El Sardinero as the more likely winners, although Racing Santander are in good spirits after their recent Copa del Rey success over the Yellow Submarines and could make this a live match rather than a banker.
Inigo Perez has done a solid job since taking the reins at La Ceramica on 1 July 2026 and his side are the more consistent, the more organised and the more balanced side of these two right now with three wins and two defeats in their last five matches.
His 4-4-2 is less about high possession and more about central protection, compact lines and fast vertical counter-attacks that will punish Racing if their press is stretched.
Racing’s home form has been patchy
But Racing have only won one of their last three at home, losing two, and are conceding an average of 2.80 goals per game on their own turf, so there is plenty to improve on.
Jose Lopez has done a superb job since his appointment on 12 December 2022 and Racing's style is still based on his original blueprint of a narrow 4-2-3-1 that tries to suffocate opponents through short passing, quick rotations and aggressive counter-pressing in tight spaces.
So we should see plenty of transitions in this fixture with Racing's central overloads taking on Villarreal's sharper wide breaks and counter punches.
Side with goals in Spain
The visitors average 1.17 goals per away game in all competitions, which looks about right for a measured but efficient away performance, but the market looks right about the prospects for goals in this one.
Both Teams to Score is at 73/100 and Over 2.5 goals at 9/10, which are both good enough to take in the circumstances.
Villarreal are the favourite at 59/50, Racing are 21/10 and the draw is 5/2. The Yellow Submarines have the better of the form and Racing's recent results have been mixed to poor, so we'll side with the visitors here.
