Racing Santander face FC Barcelona this Wednesday, 16 September, in the sixth round of La Liga. The match at Camp Nou presents a major challenge for a team arriving off a win over Alavés and sitting tenth in the table with seven points.
The Cantabrian side secured an important 2-1 victory against Alavés last weekend. Yassir Zabiri was the hero with a brace, scoring in the 38th and 53rd minutes to turn the game around after Ville Koski's opener. That win halted a patchy run of form that included a defeat to Rayo Vallecano.
Confirmed absences for the clash
The manager has confirmed that Andrés Martín and Simon Eriksson will be unavailable for the trip to Barcelona. Both players are on the injury list and have not been able to train normally this week. The club has not given a specific timeline for their return, ruling them out of the upcoming fixture.
The absence of these two players forces adjustments to the starting eleven. The coach will have to find alternatives in a squad that has scored nine and conceded nine this season.
A historic challenge at Camp Nou
The last meeting between the two sides ended in a 2-0 win for Barcelona back in January. Racing now face a match against the league leaders, who have a five-point advantage in the standings. A visit to Camp Nou is always a stern test for any team.
With recent form reading WLWLD over the last five matchdays, the aim will be to compete and take something positive from a difficult setting. The squad is aware of the challenge but arrives with confidence after last weekend's triumph. The upcoming fixtures schedule shows a run of demanding commitments.
The match kicks off at 21:00 and will be a good measure of this Racing Santander side's true level in the top flight. The last lineup against Alavés, with Zabiri as the standout, offers clues to the approach we might see in Barcelona.
