Barcelona favored to beat Racing Santander

Madrid, AFP - Barcelona will be poised to continue their ideal start in their title defense campaign when they host Racing Santander on Wednesday in their first meeting since March 2012, as part of the sixth round of the Spanish La Liga.

Under German coach Hans-Dieter Flick, the team emerged victorious from the first five league matches, the most recent being a 4-2 win over hosts Levante, thanks to a brace from their young star Lamine Yamal, raising their tally to 15 points.

The Catalan side, which also secured a 5-1 victory over Dutch club Feyenoord mid-last week to begin their UEFA Champions League campaign, has scored 21 goals in five La Liga matches, averaging more than four goals per game.

Although Santander has started strongly upon their return to the top flight for the first time since 2012, accumulating seven points, it will be extremely difficult for them to surprise their Catalan hosts, who have not lost to them since a 3-0 defeat in January 2004.

Barcelona may have achieved a perfect start so far with five wins, but their defensive fragility was exposed when Levante reduced the deficit from 3-0 to 3-2 in the final minutes.

Also on Wednesday, Atletico Madrid will face Osasuna, Deportivo La Coruna will play Sevilla, and Levante will take on Athletic Bilbao.

At the conclusion of the fifth round, Real Betis defeated hosts Villarreal 2-1, moving up to third place with 12 points, while the losers remained on two points in 18th place.