Racing hosts a Real Madrid riding high after knocking Barcelona down a peg

El Sardinero is dressing up for the occasion this Sunday. And it's no surprise why: Real Madrid comes to town fresh off a win that carries real weight in the club's recent history, visiting a Racing de Santander side that has already shown more than one opponent this season it isn't willing to give anything away.

The Cantabrian side hosts the Whites this Sunday, November 1, with kickoff set for 12:15 pm (Argentina, Chile and Uruguay time) and 10:15 am (Colombia, Peru and Ecuador time), in a match corresponding to Matchday 11 of LaLiga 2026/2027. The broadcast will be available through DSports.

A Madrid side coming off a statement win

Real Madrid's result last matchday was no ordinary win. José Mourinho's team went into Camp Nou (or wherever the clásico was played as the visiting side) and handed Barcelona its first defeat of the season, no less than against LaLiga's leader. That 2-1 left Madrid in third place, but within striking distance of the top: just three points separate them from first.

Now the challenge is different: carrying that momentum into a ground that's never easy. Racing arrives with confidence high after beating Espanyol 2-1 in the previous round, though the standings still don't reflect that good form: the Santander club sits 13th in the table, the product of a season start with more ups and downs than certainties.

Names to watch

Up front for the home side, two names stand out as the main attacking references: Íñigo Vicente and Yassin Zubiri, joined by the strong form of Iván Martín in midfield, a key piece if Racing is to hurt a higher-caliber opponent.

On Madrid's side, all eyes are on Kylian Mbappé, who arrives hoping to extend his scoring streak. Mourinho, all signs suggest, will stick with the wing formula that's been working: Yan Diomandé on the left and Arda Güler on the right, two players capable of creating imbalance against a defense that will need to stay sharp.

To find the last meeting between these two sides you have to go back quite a ways. It was February 18, 2012, at the Santiago Bernabéu, on Matchday 24 of that 2011/2012 LaLiga season. On that occasion, Real Madrid won convincingly, 4-0, with a brace from Karim Benzema and goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Ángel Di María. More than a decade later, the context is completely different, but Racing's hope of writing a new chapter in this history remains intact.