Racing Santander v Barcelona
Football : Spain : La Liga
El Sardinero, Santander
Sunday 29th August 2010 - Kickoff 7pm Local

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Racing Santander (16th)

Racing finished 16th last season, three points clear of relegation thanks mainly to surprisingly good away form juxtaposed by poor home results. The port side won only four games at home and lost 10 times, including a 4-1 defeat to Sundays visitors Barcelona as Leo Messi did his thing.

The story of last season was teenage sensation Canales meteoric rise to fame as an attacking midfielder/second striker. In typical fashion Real Madrid snapped Canales up without hesitation, and his loss will be a big blow even at his tender age.

Racing do have a habit of at least scoring against Barca in the last couple of years, even if it does usually end in defeat. However they have made some interesting signings and this game will be a nice opportunity for us to have a look at them.

Transfers in :
Bakircioglu (Ajax), Cisma (Almeria), Gonzalez (Getafe), Henrique (Barca, loan – he will probably be permitted to play), Nahuelpan (Coritiba), Tziolis (Siena)

Transfers out :
Canales (Real Madrid), Morris (Limassol), Luis Garcia, Xisco (Newcastle).

Barcelona (1st)

It's been a bit of an odd preseason at Barcelona. They have made a top quality signing in David Villa, for me the best out and out goalscorer in the world at the moment. And they also expect to add Javier Mascherano to the ranks and he too looks a perfect fit for the Catalan giants.

But the Spanish economic climate has hit Barca and they have needed emergency loans to pay players. Maybe it's time they rethought the shirt sponsorship thing. They couldn't afford Fabregas, and they let it be known that they offloaded Yaya Toure and Chygrynsky go to balance the books (although I imagine they were looking to sell anyway).

The concern is strength in depth. Barca's academy may again be called on to provide the next in the long line of technically gifted young talents.

Everyone loves watching Barcelona, their football at times is phenomenal and you always get good value for money out of them. The perennial problem for the punter however is how to make money out of them. They win relentlessly but the bookies know that and are always unscrupulous in cutting prices. Having said that, you can make a profit backing Barcelona in the match winner market, but it's a tiny small profit and you have to be a big hitter to make it pay.

At home, handicap and goalscorer markets are worth looking at, but Barca don't feel the same pressure to perform and run up scores away from home. The handicap line for this game is set at -2 which is entirely beatable by this side but still silly for an away side on opening day.

Unless you are lumping on the straight away side at short odds, which is probably the best bet, we will have to look elsewhere to try and find a sniff of value.

Transfers in : Adriana (Sevilla), Villa (Valencia)

Transfers out : Chygrynsky (Shakhtar), Henry and Marquez (NY Red Bulls), Toure (Man City)

The Betting Verdict

Barcelona to win as always, but they are not a working mans price, and I can't get involved in backing them to beat big handicaps or backing goal-scorers away from home on opening day.

Looking at last season's stats, Barca won to nil in 10 of their 19 away games. They are even money to do so again, and although Racing have scored against the Champions in the last two home meetings, Barcelona to win to nil is the percentage call which I will try in a match in which it is incredibly difficult to find value.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Racing 0 Barcelona 2

PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :

Racing Santander 10% - Draw 20% - Barcelona 70%

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

The bet : Take Barcelona to win to nil at evens (2.00) whic is generally available.