Huracán hosts Racing in a survival showdown at the Clausura 2026

Four games without a win on one side. Just one victory in eight on the other. When two teams arrive this desperate, the match stops being just another entry on the table and turns into a small final. That's exactly what's set to unfold this Sunday at Estadio Tomás Adolfo Ducó, where Huracán hosts Racing in matchday nine of the 2026 Clausura Tournament.

Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. Argentina, Uruguay and Chile time (7:30 p.m. in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador), with live coverage on TNT Sports. And if this matchup promises anything, it's tension, because neither side is showing up to relax.

Two teams in need of a confidence boost

Huracán isn't losing, but it isn't winning either. The club has racked up three straight draws following a loss, the latest a 1-1 stalemate against Belgrano that left more bitterness than relief. Diego Martínez's side knows it can't keep bleeding ground in the race for spots that lead to the 2027 Copa Sudamericana. Every point dropped at the Ducó counts double.

On the other side, things look even messier. Racing arrives with just one win in its last eight matches and is riding a two-game losing streak, the most recent a 2-1 home defeat to Atlético Tucumán. That's five losses in that stretch, and to make matters worse, the "Academia" under Juan Pablo Vojvoda sits last in its group, nowhere near the round of 16 or any international tournament spot. Could the Ducó be where Racing starts turning the crisis around? Everything suggests it needs to happen soon.

Names to watch

For Huracán, eyes will be on Hernán Galíndez in goal, on the attacking output of Jordy Caicedo, and on the midfield contributions of Rodrigo Fernández Cedrés and Leonardo Gil, key pieces if the home side is finally going to find the win that's eluded it.

For Racing, much hinges on whether Adrián "Maravilla" Martínez can find the finishing touch the team needs, alongside Matko Miljevic, Diego Ortegoza and Leonel Pérez, who will have to shoulder much of the offensive load if the "Academia" wants to snap its losing run.

The most recent meeting between the two doesn't suggest fireworks: on May 3 of this year, they played to a 0-0 draw in Avellaneda, in a low-intensity match. This time, given the urgency on both sides, it's hard to imagine such a flat outcome. Huracán needs to rediscover the taste of victory to keep the Sudamericana in sight, and Racing simply needs to start collecting three points, however it can, to stop looking up at the table from the bottom.