Racing Santander - Elche CF live - Football

Racing Santander host Elche CF on Friday, 28 August 2026 at 18:00 BST at the Estadio El Sardinero in Santander in Matchday 3 of La Liga 2026/27. Both clubs are returning to Spain's top flight after years away, giving this fixture a genuinely historic edge - it is their first meeting in the top division for several decades. In 8 head-to-head encounters since 2012, all played in the Segunda División, Elche hold the upper hand with 4 wins to Racing's 2, with 2 draws and a combined 17 goals scored.

Match Info: Racing Santander vs Elche CF

Racing Santander take on Elche CF on Friday, 28 August 2026, at 18:00 BST (17:00 UTC) at the Estadio El Sardinero in Santander, Spain, in the 3rd round of the 2026/27 La Liga season.

Where to Watch Racing Santander vs Elche CF?

Viewers in the United Kingdom and Ireland can watch the match on Premier Sports Player online or Premier Sports 1 on television. These channels hold Spanish football rights in the region and cover La Liga throughout the season.

Across continental Europe, the game is available on DAZN platforms - DAZN in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DAZN2 for the TV channel), DAZN France in France, DAZN Italia in Italy, and DAZN Portugal in Portugal. In Spain, the match is broadcast on DAZN España and Movistar+ online, with DAZN LaLiga 2 and LaLiga TV Bar HD available in bars and venues. Nordic viewers can follow the clash via Viaplay Norway or TV2 Play in Norway and Disney+ in Denmark, Finland and Sweden.

In the Americas, ESPN+, the ESPN App and Fubo TV serve US audiences, while Canadian fans can follow on TSN+. South American coverage falls to Disney+ in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, with ESPN 4 Sur as the TV alternative. Brazilian fans can watch on Amazon Prime Video or CazéTV. Across Africa and the Middle East, DStv Now and beIN SPORTS CONNECT Arabia provide online coverage, with SuperSport LaLiga in South Africa and beIN Sports Arabia 3 HD serving TV audiences in Arab countries.

Match between Racing Santander and Elche CF - Preview

The clash between Racing Santander and Elche CF is one of the most symbolically charged fixtures of La Liga's Matchday 3 - two newly promoted sides, each looking for a first win of the season, meeting in the top flight for the first time in decades.

Racing Santander are back in La Liga for the first time in 14 years, having last played in the top division in 2011/12, when they were relegated in bottom place. After years of lower-league struggle - including a spell in the third tier - the club won the Segunda División title in 2025/26 with 82 points from 42 matches (W25 D7 L10, 90 goals scored), with Andrés Martín finishing as top scorer on 23 goals. Under manager José Alberto López, Racing opened the 2026/27 campaign with a 2-2 home draw against Villarreal on 16 August, then fell 1-0 to Getafe away on 23 August. They carry 1 point and a pressing need to make El Sardinero a fortress.

Elche CF are into their second consecutive La Liga season, having been promoted from the Segunda at the end of 2024/25. In 2025/26 they survived with 43 points in 15th place - just a single point above the drop zone - relying heavily on their home record: 81% of their points came at the Estadio Martínez Valero. This season started in contrasting fashion: a 1-1 draw at home to Deportivo La Coruña on 17 August was followed by a sobering 0-5 home defeat to Barcelona on 23 August, with Raphinha and Fermín López each scoring twice and Karim Adeyemi adding a fifth. With 1 point and a goal difference of -5, the Franjiverde head to Santander under pressure.

Head-to-Head: Racing Santander vs Elche CF

The head-to-head record between these two clubs tilts in Elche's favour, but all 8 modern meetings have taken place in the Segunda División - making this 3rd-round La Liga fixture genuinely historic as their first top-flight encounter for several decades.

Here is a summary of their 8 direct encounters:

• 02 Mar 2025 - Segunda División - Racing Santander 2:0 Elche CF
• 19 Dec 2024 - Segunda División - Elche CF 3:0 Racing Santander
• 04 May 2024 - Segunda División - Racing Santander 3:1 Elche CF
• 02 Sep 2023 - Segunda División - Elche CF 1:1 Racing Santander
• 04 Jul 2020 - Segunda División - Racing Santander 1:2 Elche CF
• Dec 2019 - Segunda División - Elche CF 2:0 Racing Santander
• Oct 2013 - Segunda División - Racing Santander 0:0 Elche CF
• May 2012 - Segunda División - Elche CF 1:0 Racing Santander

Racing Santander - Recent Form

Racing Santander have 1 point from their first 2 La Liga matches of 2026/27 - a modest return that doesn't fully reflect the competitive displays put in by a side adjusting to life back in the top flight.

Their season opened on 16 August at El Sardinero, where the newly promoted side held Villarreal to a 2-2 draw - a spirited result that immediately showed the character of a club that had dominated the second division months earlier. A week later, Racing made the trip to Getafe's Coliseum and fell to a 1-0 defeat, with A. Martín's strike proving the only goal of the game. Taken together, the two displays suggest a team capable of competing at this level, even if the points column does not yet reflect it.

The foundation for this season was built in a dominant 2025/26 Segunda title run: 25 wins, 7 draws and 10 defeats across 42 matches, with top scorer Andrés Martín contributing 23 goals. Racing were particularly formidable at home - 55 goals scored and just 29 conceded in 21 home matches. That same fortress mentality must now be transferred to La Liga, starting with the meeting against Elche on Matchday 3.

Elche CF - Recent Form

Elche CF head into the match at El Sardinero with 1 point and a goal difference of -5 from 2 La Liga games - an opening spell that underlines the size of the challenge facing the Franjiverde in Spain's top flight.

The season began with reasonable optimism on 17 August, when Elche drew 1-1 with Deportivo La Coruña in front of their supporters at the Martínez Valero, with André Silva featuring prominently in attack. However, the following week brought a harsh reality check: FC Barcelona - reigning La Liga champions - arrived in Elche and ran out 5-0 winners, with Raphinha and Fermín López each netting twice and Karim Adeyemi adding the fifth. It was Elche's heaviest home defeat so far this season, though the identity of the opponent provides some context.

Across the 2025/26 La Liga campaign, manager Eder Sarabia's side finished 15th with 43 points, with 35 of those - 81% - earned at the Martínez Valero. Away from home, results were a consistent weak point. In Santander, on an unfamiliar ground in front of a crowd that has been waiting 14 years for this moment, Elche will need to produce substantially better than their opening two performances.

Facts and Statistics

Racing Santander and Elche CF are two clubs with storied histories in Spanish football who have crossed paths mainly in the second tier over the past decade. Their meeting at the Estadio El Sardinero on 28 August 2026 represents a rare occasion - two sides with long top-flight traditions facing each other in La Liga for the first time in several decades.

• In 8 head-to-head meetings since 2012 (all in the Segunda División), Elche have won 4 times, Racing have won 2 times, and 2 matches ended in a draw.
• A combined 17 goals have been scored across those 8 encounters: 7 for Racing Santander and 10 for Elche CF.
• Racing Santander return to La Liga after a 14-year absence - their last top-flight season was 2011/12, when they were relegated in last place.
• Elche CF finished 15th in La Liga 2025/26 with 43 points, surviving relegation by a single point.
• Racing Santander scored 90 goals in 42 Segunda División matches in 2025/26, winning the championship with 82 points.