Racing v Real Madrid Preview
Real Madrid suffered a shock defeat to Levante at the weekend and will be expecting to get back to winning ways as they travel to Racing Santander on Wednesday night.
Last Updated: September 21, 2011 3:41pm
Ronaldo: Set to return
Jose Mourinho's side will have to make do without Fabio Coentrao and Pepe who both picked up muscle injuries at the weekend, although Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil could both return after being rested.
Racing were thumped 4-0 by Atletico Madrid at the weekend much to the disappointment of manager Hector Cuper, who said: "We were overwhelmed and it's difficult to find something positive."
The hosts have a poor recent record against Real, having lost their last eight minutes and scoring just three goals, so they face a tough task to reverse their fortunes on Wednesday.
Mourinho's Madrid have failed to score in just seven of his 41 league games in charge of the club, while the blank drew against Levante was their first in 10 outings.
On the back of a defeat Real will expect to respond and having seen their title rivals, Barcelona, score eight at the weekend they will want to show the watching world they won't be left trailing their rivals for another year.
LIVE and exclusive on Sky Sports
Matches
-
Spanish Primera BBVA
Table
Spanish Primera BBVA
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 36 | 94 |
| 2 | Real Madrid | 36 | 81 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | 36 | 72 |
| 4 | Real Sociedad | 36 | 62 |
| 5 | Valencia | 36 | 62 |
| 6 | Malaga | 36 | 54 |
| 7 | Real Betis | 36 | 52 |
| 8 | Rayo Vallecano | 36 | 49 |
| 9 | Sevilla | 36 | 47 |
| 10 | Getafe | 36 | 47 |
| 11 | Espanyol | 36 | 44 |
| 12 | Athletic Bilbao | 36 | 44 |
| 13 | Real Valladolid | 36 | 43 |
| 14 | Levante | 36 | 42 |
| 15 | Granada | 36 | 39 |
| 16 | Osasuna | 36 | 36 |
| 17 | Deportivo La Coruna | 36 | 35 |
| 18 | Real Zaragoza | 36 | 34 |
| 19 | Real Mallorca | 36 | 32 |
| 20 | Celta Vigo | 36 | 31 |
