Racing Santander host in-form Alaves in La Liga matchday five
Racing Santander return to El Sardinero on Saturday to face Alaves in a matchday five fixture that pits a side searching for consistency against one of the division's early over-performers.
Racing have won just once in their last five outings, a run reading one win, two draws and two defeats, and go into the game aiming to arrest a recent dip after a defeat in their most recent match.
Alaves in form
Alaves arrive with a considerably stronger recent record, having taken three wins and two draws from their last five without a single loss. That run of results makes them one of the more consistent sides in the division heading into this round of fixtures.
The gap in current form between the two clubs is stark and will inevitably shape expectations around this meeting, even if La Liga games rarely follow recent trends to the letter.
A familiar fixture
The two sides met as recently as August in a friendly that finished 1-1, continuing a pattern of tightly contested and often drawn encounters between them. Their history also includes a 0-0 stalemate in 2024 and two competitive Segunda División meetings in 2022 and 2023 that were shared just as evenly, alongside a heavier Alaves win in a friendly in 2023.
With both sides having previously cancelled each other out more often than not, Saturday's meeting at El Sardinero offers Racing a chance to arrest their dip in form against opponents they know well, while Alaves will look to carry their momentum into a ground where they have rarely been beaten comfortably.