Racing de Santander vs Alaves - prediction, team news, lineups

By Matt Law | 10 Sep 2026 12:02, Last updated: 10 Sep 2026 12:04

Alaves will be aiming to continue their excellent start to the 2026-27 campaign when they head to Racing de Santander on Saturday afternoon.

The visitors have picked up 10 points from their opening four games of the season, which has left them second in the La Liga table, while Racing occupy 13th spot on four points.

Racing can be relatively pleased with what has been a solid start to life back at this level, with a record of one win, one draw and two defeats from four matches bringing them four points, which is enough for 13th spot in the division heading into the next gameweek.

The Green and Whites drew with Villarreal and then lost to Getafe ahead of their first win of the season - a 3-2 success over Elche.

However, Jose Alberto Lopez's side will enter this match off the back of a defeat, going down 3-2 to Rayo Vallecano, and they will now be bidding to bounce back on home soil.

Racing lead the overall head-to-head record between the two sides, having posted 19 wins to Alaves' 16, while there have also been 13 draws in their 48 meetings.

Alaves recorded a 3-0 win over Racing when the two teams last locked horns in January 2023, but this will be their first meeting in Spain's top flight since February 2006, with that game finishing 2-2.

The visitors have been exceptional early in the season, boasting a record of three wins and one draw from their four matches to collect 10 points, which has left them second in the table, with only Barcelona (12 points) performing better thus far in 2026-27.

Alaves opened their season with a 3-0 success over Getafe, before drawing 1-1 with Rayo Vallecano in their second match of the campaign.

The Blue and Whites have won their last two games, beating Villarreal 1-0 and Osasuna 5-2, to move onto 10 points, while they have scored 10 goals and conceded three in Spain's top flight this term, which is the same as third-placed Real Madrid.

Quique Sanchez Flores' side finished 14th in La Liga last season, only one point above the relegation zone, so their start to the campaign has been remarkable, and the visitors will enter this weekend's contest full of confidence given their early-season form.

Racing will be without the services of Andres Martin due to a knee injury, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape for this weekend's contest.

Jorge Salinas will be a notable starter for the promoted outfit, with the left-back staying with Racing during the summer window despite strong links with Manchester United and Barcelona.

Yassir Zabiri has scored three goals in four appearances this season, and the 21-year-old will continue in the final third of the field.

Alaves, meanwhile, could be unchanged from their clash with Osasuna last time out.

Toni Martinez remains on the sidelines with a foot injury; Mikel Rodriguez is also sidelined with an ankle issue, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape.

Mariano Diaz has three goals and three assists in La Liga this season, and the 33-year-old is set to be joined in the attack by Lucas Boye, who has four goals in three outings this term.

Racing de Santander possible starting lineup:

Agirrezabala; Mantilla, Hernando, Gonzalez, Salinas; Martin, Prati; Garcia, Canales, Vicente; Zabiri

Sivera; Tenaglia, Koski, Otto; Perez, Ibanez, Blanco, Alena, Rebbach; Boye, Diaz

Racing are capable of making this a tricky match for Alaves, but we are expecting the visitors to put another three points on the board this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Get FREE daily news and in-depth previews for games from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football — straight to your inbox.