Getafe come into this one with that classic Coliseum grit. A 1-0 friendly win over Reading in July might not set pulses racing, but it’s exactly the kind of scrappy, controlled performance we expect from them. Look at their recent La Liga run: a 3-1 hammering of Mallorca, a 1-0 win over Osasuna, and a solid 0-0 at Real Oviedo. They don’t blow teams away, but they grind results. That’s the Getafe way. They’ll have opened the season with a tricky trip to Alaves, and while that ended in a draw on our books, the underlying signs are positive. Satriano is now permanent and ready to lead the line — that’s a real focal point.

Santander, or Racing Santander if we’re being proper, are the new kids on the block. Newly promoted, full of momentum after a storming Segunda campaign — 4-2 over Huesca, 4-1 over Valladolid, 4-1 over Cadiz. They score goals for fun at home. But this is the Estadio Coliseum, not El Sardinero. Their away form in the top flight is untested, and their only recent away result was a 1-1 at Malaga. That tells you they can dig in, but can they handle the intensity of a Getafe side that smells blood on home turf? We doubt it. The momentum is real, but the step up is massive.