Racing Santander
- Racing Santander will make life very difficult for Villarreal in Wednesday’s Copa del Rey 2025-2026 clash at El Sardinero, where the Second Division side are in red-hot form under José Alberto López.
- Racing Santander have won four of their last five matches, including a 3-2 away win at Cádiz and a 4-0 thrashing of Eibar.
- El Racinguista have taken the Segunda (LaLiga Hypermotion) by storm, racking up 35 points from their first 17 games to sit at the top of the promotion table.
- López has instilled an aggressive 4-2-3-1 gameplan on the side that presses high, plays with wide players and plenty of tempo.
- They have been scoring plenty of goals recently with Jeremy Arévalo making a great foil up front for a mobile Asier Villalibre, who could start if selected.
- López has just signed a contract extension to keep him at the helm until 2028 and the momentum at the club right now is incredible.
Villarreal CF
- In Villarreal, Racing will face a side that are currently third in LaLiga with 26 points from 12 games.
- Villarreal have played some superb football at times under Marcelino García Toral in his second spell at the Yellow Submarine, but their recent setback at home to FC Copenhagen in the Champions League could be a warning to the club that European fatigue is beginning to set in.
- The gameplan at Villarreal is pretty clear: sit in a narrow 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 mid-block, press selectively and look to break with vertical passes and set-piece precision.
- The addition of new signing Tani Oluwaseyi is a bonus for the attack, as he has scored in both the Champions League and this competition already.
- Santi Comesaña orchestrates everything in midfield, while Villarreal are strong favourites to win because they are a top-four side in Spain.
Head-to-Head
- These two clubs have not met competitively in over a decade and, although Villarreal dominate the all-time record, Racing can win this match-up if they catch the Yellow Submarine on a bad day.
- Villarreal are around 12-3 all-time against Racing Santander, with Racing having only three victories and the goal difference heavily in their favour.
Key Players
- They have been scoring plenty of goals recently with Jeremy Arévalo making a great foil up front for a mobile Asier Villalibre, who could start if selected.
- The addition of new signing Tani Oluwaseyi is a bonus for the attack, as he has scored in both the Champions League and this competition already.
- Santi Comesaña orchestrates everything in midfield.
Betting Insights
Backing the hosts to win at 3.05 is not a bad play either and could be a decent wager in the double chance market, while the 3.25 about the draw also appeals.
Prediction
So there is certainly scope for an upset, but the safest bet here is to take Both Teams to Score at 1.87 because Racing have been in great scoring form and Villarreal have shown some defensive weaknesses lately.
