Racing Santander return to La Liga after 14 years when they host Villarreal on 16 August 2026 at El Sardinero. Promoted as 2025 26 Segunda champions under José Alberto López, they face an immediate examination against a side that finished third last season and qualified for the Champions League. Racing need a result here before trips to Getafe and a home game against Elche, because a winless August would kill the momentum of promotion fast. Villarreal have their own kind of pressure: Iñigo Pérez is replacing Marcelino García Toral, who qualified for the Champions League in back to back seasons and three points on opening day would do a lot to establish him in the role.
López and Pérez have never met in competitive football. López has been at Racing since December 2022, earned promotion and signed on until 2028, while Pérez arrived at Villarreal on 1 June 2026 on a three year deal after successful spells at Rayo Vallecano.
Competitive form is thin this early in the window. Racing's 4 1 pre season win over Sporting Gijón on 7 August (a local derby) will have settled some nerves ahead of this. Villarreal's pre season has been low profile, so how Pérez sets them up here will be the first real look at his system.
Racing go into the opener largely fit, with forward Giorgi Guliashvili the only notable absentee after a leg problem expected to keep him out until late August. The squad has been reinforced by goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala from Athletic Bilbao and the return of veteran midfielder Sergio Canales, while Asier Villalibre is set to lead the line. Villarreal have a full squad available, their only notable summer addition being goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi from RB Leipzig, while Román Terrats and Alfonso Pedraza have departed.
Racing will likely line up with Eriksson in goal behind Mantilla, Felipe, Gonzalez and Salinas, a midfield of Puerta and Gueye supporting Martin, Canales and Vicente and Villalibre up top. Villarreal are projected to deploy Junior behind Mourino, Foyth, Veiga and Romero, with Gueye and Comesaña in midfield feeding Pepe, Gerard Moreno, Moleiro and Mikautadze.
López kept Racing compact in their promotion season and will likely prioritise not losing this game. Canales is their best chance of creating something in the final third, while Villalibre brings aerial presence and hold up play to give Racing an outlet. Young defender Jorge Salinas slots into the back four alongside Felipe and Gonzalez. Villarreal's pre season has been low profile enough that Pérez's preferred system remains unclear, though at Rayo he favoured structured pressing and quick transitions and whether he transplants that to a squad with different personnel is what this game will start to answer. Mikautadze will look to run in behind while Moreno drops deeper to link play, with Comesaña sitting deeper to screen and Gueye pushing further forward.
Canales against Villarreal's Gueye Comesaña axis is where the tempo gets decided. If Racing lose that midfield battle, their back four, without top flight experience since 2012, will be under sustained pressure from two of La Liga's more dangerous forwards.
Villarreal have won 16 of 33 meetings against Racing's eight and La Liga encounters have generally gone the visitors' way. That said, Racing beat them 2 1 in the Copa del Rey last 32 in December 2025, the kind of recent result that stays in a dressing room longer than a historical record does.
Racing have home advantage and the emotional charge of a first La Liga fixture in 14 years. Villarreal want three points immediately, particularly with Pérez still establishing himself in the role and with Getafe and Elche still to come in August, López may already be thinking about who needs protecting, though he is unlikely to rotate for matchday one.
Racing Santander 1 2 Villarreal. Racing's back four has not played at this level since 2012 and they face Mikautadze and Moreno in their very first game back, which is a punishing way to start. Guliashvili's absence matters too: Villarreal arrive at full strength while Racing are without their only senior forward option up front. Canales gives Racing something to hold onto and if he is on the ball in the right moments, a goal is realistic. The quality gap in attack, combined with Gulácsi's experience in goal, makes Villarreal the clear pick.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
