Racing Santander vs Real Madrid | Spanish Primera Division | Round 30 | Preview
Real Madrid visit Racing Santander on Sunday and face a must-win situation if they are to reclaim the top spot in the table prior to next weekend’s Clasico.
The Whites face a must-win situation if they are to enter the Clasico as leaders
El Sardinero Stadium is the next stop in the race to the finish line and the first of five remaining road trips for Real Madrid. Following Barcelona’s victory against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, the Whites need to notch three points in Santander if they are to reclaim the lead prior to next weekend’s Clasico.
Manuel Pellegrini will have several new faces at his disposal to get the job done. Karim Benzema will suit up for the first time in a month and a half after missing eight games to due a sports hernia. Lass and Garay are also available as both have recovered from their respective injuries. It’s not all good news, however, as Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos must sit this one out due to suspension and Kaka and Drenthe remain sidelined due to injury
REAL MADRID SQUAD LIST
GOALKEEPERS: Casillas, Dudek
DEFENDERS: Albiol, Arbeloa, Marcelo, Metzelder, Garay, Mateos, Marcos Alonso
MIDFIELDERS: Diarra, Gago, Lass, Granero, Van der Vaart, Guti
FORWARDS: Cristiano Ronaldo, Raúl, Benzema, Higuaín.
Racing Santander happen to be the worst team in La Liga when playing on their home turf, where they have won two matches, drawn five, lost seven and scored only ten goals while conceding 22. Miguel Angel Portugal knows a win against Real Madrid is just what his team needs to pick itself up, but it won’t be easy, especially with such a banged up defense.
Last Thursday, Henrique tore his left meniscus and will miss the rest of the season. Oriol is also out having to serve a one-match suspension after being booked last weekend. Fortunately for Racing, though, their two two goal-scorers are fit and ready to go: Real Madrid’s most recent signing, Sergio Canales, and Mohammed Tchite.
RACING SQUAD LIST
Goalkeepers: Coltorti, Mario Fernandez.
Defenders: Pinillos, Torrejon, Christian, Moraton, Crespo, Morris.
Midfielders: Colsa, Lacen, Toni Moral, Serrano, Arana, Diop, Canales.
Forwards: Munitis, Bolado, Tchite.
Real Madrid and Racing have met 84 times, of which the Whites have won 46, drawn 17 and lost 20, all the while scoring 171 goals and conceding 98.
Referee: Mr. Delgado Ferreiro
Real Madrid Castilla 3-0 Villanovense Ofigevi
Real Madrid Castilla won in dramatic fashion on Sunday by breaking a 0-0 deadlock 86 minutes after kick-off. The Whites overcame a missed penalty in the early stages of the match to defeat Villanovense 3-0. Ruben Ramos’ header hit the back of the net with four minutes left in regulation and a brace by Cristian in injury time was the exclamation point on a sensational week that saw the team earn seven of nine possible points.
MATCH SUMMARY:
REAL MADRID CASTILLA: Adan; Luis Hernandez, Juanan, Gary, Nacho; Sarabia (Vazquez, min.80), Cordero, Mosquera, Juan Carlos (Juanfran, min.70); Rodrigo (Ruben Ramos, min.73), Cristian.
VILLANOVENSE: Fuentes; Jaraiz, J. Sanchez, Juan Carlos, Mora (Cobos, min.28); Galvez, Jurado, Anxo; Moraga, Troitero, Juanjo.
GOALS:
2-0 (min.90): Cristian
3-0 (min.90): Cristian
Notes: Week 32 of Segunda Division B Group II
Played at: Alfredo di Stefano Stadium.
The return of Benzema – Santander pre-preview
Tired of sitting out is Karim Benzema
Barça 4 Athletic Bilbao 1,
Seeking three points are Real Madrid from the sixteenth placed Racing Santander – a team that has won just one match, drawn five and lost four in the second half of the season for a total of eight points. They are only six points clear of the relegation zone and have gone winless in seven straight weeks. They aren’t any good at home either having won only twice scoring 10 and conceding 22. In all it should be easy picking for us.
Racing manager, and former Madridista, Miguel Angel Portugal is likely to be missing Oriol through suspension. Torrejon and Henriques have been ruled out for the rest of the season through injuries.
RACING SANTANDER SQUAD LIST:
GOALKEEPERS: Coltorti, Mario Fernández
DEFENDERS: Pinillos, Crespo, Christian, Moratón, Morris, Diop
MIDFIELDERS: Colsa, Lacen, Toni Moral, Serrano, Arana,
FORWARDS: Munitis, Canales, Bolado, Tchité.
While Racing have a problem getting the ball into the back of the net, Real have scored more goals than any other team in the league. We have broken the league record of scoring three or more goals every game for 10 consecutive weeks and are currently on the right track to beat our own record of scoring 107 goals. And going by stats the visit to El Sardinero will not be much of a hindrance to us.
Team news now and Karim Benzema has recovered from the sports hernia that kept him sidelined for eight consecutive matches and thus has been called up. Fellow Frenchman Lass will also travel with the team after missing both the derbies as will Garay who has recovered from a strained left thigh muscle. Guti travels despite the niggles he suffered during the week. Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso will stay in Madrid to serve their one-match suspension after receiving their fifth booking thus clearing themselves to play the Clásico. Pepe, Kaká and Drenthe, meanwhile, are still injured and unavailable.
REAL MADRID SQUAD LIST:
GOALKEEPERS: Casillas, Dudek
DEFENDERS: Albiol, Arbeloa, Marcelo, Metzelder, Garay, Mateos, Marcos Alonso
MIDFIELDERS: Diarra, Gago, Lass, Granero, Van der Vaart, Guti
FORWARDS: Cristiano Ronaldo, Raúl, Benzema, Higuaín.
So that’s good news all around. Benzema just needs to get some much needed match fitness ahead of the Clásico as he still hasn’t played a single minute since the first leg against Lyon. Someone else who has also been affected by Lyon is Kaká who hasn’t seen action since the second leg. Drenthe who was initially out for three weeks too is still in the Real Madrid infirmary. Hopefully Pepe should be the only one whom we’ll miss for the big game next week.
As far as attitude problems are concerned I am unsure whether Lass is really having a problem with the management or not. Like the press have been saying, he hasn’t played ever since he got substituted at half time against Sporting two weeks ago. I hope all such minor problems are resolved. Hey, this is a team that has benched the likes of Kaká and Benzema and above all Raúl himself. Lass should just look around and learn that no one is indispensable in this team.
Something that has also concerned me in recent weeks is the lack of clean sheets we have in our pockets. We have conceded at least one goal for nine games in a row in all competitions and that is something that we really need to avoid considering how close the title race is and El Sardinero will be a good place to start.
We will start with Casillas on goal. Arbeloa should retain the right back spot as will Marcelo on the left side of defense. Garay has recovered and should be given some match time against his old suitors. In midfield it Gago will definitely get another game after a couple of impressive games in the Madrid derbies which saw the Gago whom we all knew return. Lass is 50-50 as I doubt if Pellegrini will employ the double pivot against a team that finds it so hard to score. The same applies to Momo Diarra. If Guti is fit enough then he must start. Granero and Van der Vaart will be obvious choices to fill up the rest of the midfield just as the spots up front will be occupied by Ronaldo and Higuaín.
I am going for a big win here as should Real so that they enter the Clásico on a high note.
Probable Starting XI: Casillas, Arbeloa, Albiol, Garay, Marcelo, Gago, Guti, Granero, Van der Vaart, Ronaldo, Higuaín.
Prediction: Racing Santander 0-5 Real Madrid
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