Racing Santander eyeing 40-point haul before mid-season break
The Cantabrian side could join elite company if they defeat Real Zaragoza at El Sardinero, with promotion to La Liga looking increasingly possible.
Racing Santander are on the cusp of a remarkable achievement as they look to become the only team in Spain’s Segunda División to surpass the 40-point mark before the season’s halfway stage.
Promotion mathematics looking tasty
The numbers tell a proper story here. If Racing maintain their current form through the second half of the season, they’d finish on 80 points – virtually guaranteeing promotion to La Liga. That’s not just wishful thinking from the Cantabrian faithful; that’s cold, hard promotion mathematics.
Victory against Real Zaragoza at El Sardinero this Saturday would take Racing to 41 points after 21 matches. To put that in perspective, only five clubs have managed such a points tally at this stage in the past decade:
- Almería (2021/22) - 45 points, promoted as champions
- Espanyol (2020/21) - 45 points, promoted automatically
- Mallorca (2020/21) - 42 points, promoted automatically
- Cádiz (2019/20) - 41 points, promoted as runners-up
- Levante (2016/17) - 46 points, promoted
It’s worth noting that Almería also hit 41 points at the halfway mark in 2020/21 but couldn’t maintain their form and stayed down. A cautionary tale for Racing, that.
Current form suggests staying power
Racing nearly hit the 40-point milestone last weekend but had to settle for a draw at Real Valladolid. Despite a somewhat grey performance, particularly in attack where they lacked both fluidity and penetration, José Alberto López’s men created decent chances after Valladolid’s Tomeo was sent for an early bath late on.
The point gained was fair based on the 90+ minutes, but Racing left Castile feeling they could have nicked all three on another day.
Injury concerns up top
The bread and butter for Racing now is managing their squad through this crucial period. Asier Villalibre’s muscle injury in Valladolid, combined with Jeremy Arévalo’s departure to Stuttgart, leaves José Alberto with just one senior striker – Canary Islander Juan Carlos Arana.
On the plus side, Racing are now unbeaten in eight league matches, showing the kind of consistency that gets teams promoted from this division.
With El Sardinero rocking and promotion dreams no longer seeming like pie in the sky, this Saturday’s clash with Zaragoza could be another step toward returning to Spain’s top table for the first time since 2012.