Racing Santander vs Real Madrid
A difficult roadblock awaits Real Madrid in El Sardinero on Sunday with six matchdays remaining and 18 points at stake. It’s another final for the Whites, who face a Racing squad on the verge of completing its best season in club history; the hosts are close to booking a trip to next season’s Champions League, while Madrid can bring the league title closer to arm’s reach. Atletico Madrid’s slip-up and Barcelona’s draw on Saturday give both sides even more incentive to take care of business in tonight’s match as quickly as possible.
Sitting in fifth place with 53 points and just one away from a spot in next year’s Champions League, Racing Santander are on the brink of completing a dream season. Their success is due in large part to home matches in El Sardinero, where they have only lost three times in 2007/08: matchday 5 against Villarreal (0-2), matchday 23 against Atletico Madrid (0-2), and matchday 31 against Deportivo Coruña (1-3). Marcelino’s men have also done well on the road, fresh off two important victories in Montjuïc (0-3) and Mestalla (1-2).
With the stage set, Schuster and company intend on being the fourth team to knock off the Racinguistas on their home turf, which would bump their point lead to eleven following Barcelona’s draw on Saturday.
If that isn’t enough, there will also be an important duel between tonight’s two goalkeepers. Toño and Iker Casillas are both in the hunt for the Zamora Trophy, which is given to the keeper who concedes the fewest goals in a season.
Reason for optimism
Real Madrid have typically done well against Racing, but more so in the Santiago Bernabéu than El Sardinero. However, that said, the Madridistas hold the overall statistical advantage of 42 wins, 17 draws, and 20 defeats in the 79 encounters between the two sides.
The numbers are more balanced in Santander, where Real Madrid have won and drawn 12 of 39 matches, while Racing has won 15 times. In their last ten meetings in El Sardinero, Real Madrid has won four times, drawn four times, and lost twice.
Guti out
It’s one of the most difficult of the six remaining matches this year, and Schuster cannot rely on the services of Guti who, along with Miguel Torres, must serve a one-game suspension. Metzelder and Van Nistelrooy remain inactive, while Drenthe, Soldado, and Jordi Codina were left off the squad list due to a coaching decision.
Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, and Heinze are likely to form the defensive line for only the second time all season, the first being the memorable victory in the Camp Nou in December.
El Sardinero will be a packed house, and with so many dreams on the line, the magic of football only multiplies. (Official Real Madrid site)
[...] admin wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptIt’s another final for the Whites, who face a Racing squad on the verge of completing its best season in club history; the hosts are close to booking a trip to next season’s Champions League, while Madrid can bring the league title … [...]