If Boca had not played at the beginning of the month, the final of the Copa Libertadores against Palmeiras, it could well be stated that this Wednesday’s match from 9:10 p.m. against Estudiantes de La Plata for the semifinals of the Argentine Cup at the Mario Kempes stadium in Córdoba , is the most important of the year for the xeneizes.
To reach the definition of this Cup against the winner of Thursday’s match on the Lanús field between San Lorenzo and Defensa y Justicia and strengthen their chances of qualifying for the 2024 Copa Libertadores, Boca must win in the ninety minutes or in the series of kicks from the penalty spot. If they lose in any instance, they will be eliminated and next year they will only play in the Copa Sudamericana, a competition that for the Boca leaders and fans knows little and does not even serve as a consolation prize.
The match that will be refereed by Yael Falcón Pérez and televised by TyC Sports generated enormous expectations and it is expected that the Kempes stadium will be full or almost full and with a lot of atmosphere in the stands. There will be fans of both teams in the stands and also a lot of people from Cordoba. Boca won the 1969, 2012, 2015 and 2020 editions, while Estudiantes never won the competition nor did they play in a final. But its situation in the annual table is somewhat more comfortable than that of Boca.
In a very bad season in which they were never the protagonist of the local tournaments (Professional League and League Cup), and lost the final of the Copa Libertadores against Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro, Boca will take on this semi-final of the Argentine Cup with a Interim coach as Mariano Herrón, replacing the resigning Jorge Almirón.
In that context, Herrón will put the best available, with the return of captain Marcos Rojo to the defense in place of Nicolás Valentini and the presence of Ezequiel Bullaude for Cristian Medina, who has had poor performance in recent games, and Lucas Janson for the injured Edinson Cavani to accompany Boca’s best forward during the year in the offensive: the oriental Miguel Merentiel. Another Uruguayan, Marcelo Saracchi, will continue as a starter at left back in place of the Colombian Frank Fabra.
Their rival, Estudiantes de La Plata, recovered one of their figures, José Sosa, who will share the setup of the game with Benjamín Rollheiser. But he will not have Luciano Lollo or Santiago Ascacibar, who have been out due to injuries for a few weeks. In attack, Guido Carrillo will continue and Mauro Boselli will be a substitute, who will retire when the season concludes next month.
2023-11-21 21:37:00
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