River Plate and Boca Juniors, the two football giants in Argentina, will face each other this Sunday at the Más Monumental stadium in a new edition of the Superclásico, valid for the interzonal date, the seventh of the Professional Football League Cup.
The match will be played this Sunday starting at 5 p.m. at the “Millonarios” stadium in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Núñez, it will be refereed by Yael Falcón Pérez and televised by the ESPN signal.
The new Superclásico takes them at different times, with River more consolidated and functioning better, and Boca in search of an identity under the leadership of Diego Martínez, who took the reins of the team this year replacing Jorge Almirón, who He left in November 2023.
On the River side, they are second in Zone A with 12 points, behind Independiente (13) and undefeated, with three wins and three draws, two of them in a row in their recent presentations against Atlético Tucumán (0-0) and Banfield (1-1).
The team led by Martín Demichelis, which was champion last year, is a great candidate to qualify for the quarterfinals of the League Cup among the top four and also to win the title in a tournament that will crown Rosario Central in 2023 .
Boca is the opposite because it has only 9 points in Zone B, which Godoy Cruz de Mendoza comfortably leads with 16 and is seventh. To make matters worse, Martínez’s cycle has just suffered his first “shock” when he fell in “La Fortaleza” against Lanús ( 2-1).
That defeat, added to the fact that of the previous five games he barely won two and tied three, against the weakest rivals in the area, raised doubts regarding Martínez’s project, who failed to make his mark on the team and will have to deal from now on. more with the most difficult rivals, starting with River.
Martínez transferred the doubts that the team leaves in each presentation to the week and thus has not yet defined how Boca will form in the Monumental, with doubts in all lines, of names and also tactics.
In that sense, the former coach of Tigre and Huracán rehearsed with different teams and it is presumed that he has 10 players defined for the Superclásico, with an unknown in the midfield and the presence up front of the Uruguayan Edinson Cavani along with his compatriot Miguel Merentiel.
Cavani was a substitute against Lanús and would start in place of the unproductive Lucas Janson, while in midfield Lucas Blondel and Jabes Saralegui would take the place of the Colombian Jorman Campuzano, with more chances for the former Tigre despite the fact that his natural position is full-back right.
The truth is that Martínez is facing a crucial match in which he cannot fail, since a victory would give air to his cycle, and a defeat would increase the criticism he has been receiving in a League Cup in which he showed no progress regarding of what Boca did last year with Almirón.
The Superclásico, as always, will leave consequences for those who lose it and will lift the spirits of those who win it, although this time the pressure is on Boca’s side.
In River, coach Martín Demichelis did not define the formation either, although it is clear that he has a lot to choose from and a good one.
On the one hand, Demichelis will wait for the Colombian scorer Miguel Borja, top scorer in the League Cup with 6 conquests, to see if he can take him into account, for that he should leave behind the small tear in the left adductor that he suffered 10 days ago in the tie in Tucumán.
It is not clear if Borja will play initially but it is estimated that he will go to the substitute bench, while he also exists in other positions on the team and is even analyzing a possible change in tactical system (if the Colombian does not play) with the entry of an offensive midfielder. , Claudio Echeverri or another striker, Pablo Solari.
Furthermore, the issue of the central midfielder remains unresolved since the coach rehearsed with Rodrigo Villagra who has not yet played as a starter and added a few minutes as a substitute or Nicolás Fonseca who has been part of the 11 but with irregular performances.
The other possibilities are Matías Kranevitter who did not play this year due to a tear and was only on par with the rest in the week or Agustín Palavecino who already partnered with Rodrigo Aliendro but without playing well.
The truth is that beyond these unknowns, River has an important squad and the team has a defined functioning, and appears with a light advantage over Boca, which has not yet found its identity.
As for the history between the two, it is 261 official matches in AFA tournaments and favors Boca with 91 victories against 86 for River, and there were also 84 draws.
The last time they met in Núñez was last year and River won with a goal on the penalty hour scored by Borja, while Boca’s last victory was in that stadium in 2022 by 1-0 with a goal from another Colombian, Sebastián Villa.
– Probable Formations –
River Plate: Franco Armani; Andres Herrera, Leandro Gonzalez Perez, Paulo Diaz and Enzo Diaz; Rodrigo Aliendro and Nicholas Fonseca or Rodrigo Villagra; Esequiel Barco, Ignatius “Nacho” Fernandez and Claudio Echeverri or Pablo Solari; Facundo Collidium. DT: Martin Demichelis.
Boca Juniors: Sergio Romero; Advíncula, Lema, Figal and Blanco; Blondel or Saralegui -the former Tigre would have a small advantage-, “Equi” Fernandez, Medina and Zenón; Cavani and Merentiel.
Referee: Yael Falcón Pérez.
WHERE: Lucas Novelli.
Court: Most Monumental, by River Plate.
Start time: 17.
TV: ESPN Premium.
2024-02-24 16:42:00
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