Barcelona will look to maintain their flawless start to the La Liga season when they host Racing Santander at Camp Nou on Wednesday evening.
Hansi Flick’s side lead the table with 15 points from five matches, while Racing Santander sit 10th with seven points after a promising return to the top flight. Barcelona’s latest league victory was a 4-2 win against Levante, which followed a 5-1 Champions League success over Feyenoord.
The Catalan side have won all five of their La Liga matches, scoring 21 goals in the process. They are three points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, with Raphinha and Lamine Yamal already having scored six league goals each. Raphinha has particularly impressed when operating centrally.
Barcelona’s recent form in La Liga is V V V V V, while their record in all competitions is V V V V V V. Racing’s league sequence is N D V D V.
The historical record is heavily in Barcelona’s favour. The teams have met 101 times in all competitions, with Barcelona winning 63 matches compared with 17 victories for Santander. Racing have not beaten Barcelona since January 2004 and have lost their past eight meetings.
Racing Santander, Segunda Division champions last season, arrive after a 2-1 victory over Alaves. Jose Alberto Lopez’s team have recorded two wins, one draw and two defeats in their opening five league games.
The visitors have scored nine goals, but they have also conceded nine, the highest total among the teams currently in the top 11. Racing have lost both of their away matches in the league this season and now face their most difficult trip of the campaign.
Barcelona will be without Frenkie de Jong and Roony Bardghji, both of whom are out with knee injuries. Gerard Martin, substituted at half-time against Levante after suffering a cut to his face, is expected to be fit but could make way for Andreas Christensen.
Anthony Gordon is expected to start alongside Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, with Xavi Espart likely to continue as the stand-in left-back. For Racing, Simon Eriksson and Andres Martin are unavailable with shoulder and knee injuries respectively, while Andre Almeida is suspended. Sergio Canales is expected to operate in the creative role.
Much of the attention will fall on Racing’s Morocco international forward Yassir Zabiri. Born in Marrakech in 2005 and on loan from Stade Rennais FC, the 21-year-old has emerged as one of the season’s early revelations, scoring five goals in five appearances. His highlights include a hat-trick against Elche and a decisive brace against Deportivo Alaves.
Barcelona’s expected line-up is J. Garcia; E. Garcia, Cubarsi, Christensen, Espart; Pedri, Rodri, Fermin; Gordon, Raphinha, Yamal.
Racing Santander could field Agirrezabala; Mantilla, Ramon, Belocian, Salinas; Martin, Prati; Garcia, Canales, Vicente; Zabiri.
Barcelona are expected to have too much attacking power at home, although Racing’s form in front of goal suggests they could score. The prediction is a 3-1 Barcelona victory, with that correct-score selection priced at 9.50 on Betclic.