Atletico Tucuman will be bidding to stretch their unbeaten run of form in the Argentine Primera Division to four matches when they continue their domestic campaign away to Banfield on Saturday night.
The visitors currently sit 16th in the table, boasting six points from their opening five games of the 2024 campaign, while Banfield are 22nd, having picked up four points from their first five matches.
Match preview
Banfield have won one, drawn one and lost three of their opening five matches of the 2024 Argentine Primera Division campaign, with a total of four points leaving them in 22nd spot in the table.
El Taladro lost two of their opening three games of the season, but they managed to record a 2-0 victory over Newell's Old Boys at the start of June to move onto four points.
Julio Cesar Falcioni's side, who finished 21st in the Argentine Primera Division last season, were last in action on June 13, suffering a 2-1 defeat to Independiente.
Banfield can take heart from the fact that they are unbeaten on home soil this term, picking up four points from their two matches, and a victory here would likely propel them up the division.
Atletico Tucuman, meanwhile, were last in action on June 16, playing out a 1-1 draw with Defensa y Justica.
El Gigante del Norte have actually drawn 1-1 in each of their last three matches, having also played out that scoreline with Platense and Velez Sarsfield, with their last defeat proving to be a 2-1 reverse to Gimnasia La Plata towards the end of May.
Diego Erroz's side actually started their 2024 campaign with a 1-0 victory over Boca Juniors, but they were beaten 2-0 by Talleres de Cordoba in their second match before playing out the three draws.
Atletico Tucuman sit 16th in the Argentine Primera Division, boasting six points from five matches, and they are only three points behind seventh-placed River Plate.
The visitors have not actually been victorious away from home in the top flight since November 2023, though, which is an indication of the size of their task in Saturday's contest.
Team News
Banfield will be without the services of four players through injury, with Franco Quinteros, Ezequiel Bonifacio, Alejandro Cabrera and Alexis Maldonado all unavailable for selection.
Meanwhile, Aaron Quiros is banned due to the red card that he picked up in the latter stages of the 2-1 defeat to Independiente.
There are not expected to be any surprises in the final third of the field this weekend, with Milton Gimenez and Bruno Sepulveda set to continue as the front two for Banfield.
As for Atletico Tucuman, Juan Infante is out of the match due to a muscular problem, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape heading into the contest.
Head coach Sava could decide to name the same side that took to the field for the first whistle against Defensa y Justicia last time out.
Marcelo Estigarribia missed a penalty in the team's last match, but the 29-year-old will continue in the final third of the field, while Mateo Coronel is also expected to keep his spot in the side.
Banfield possible starting lineup:
Sanguinetti; Alvarez, Maciel, Perez, Iribarren, Insua; Gonzalez, Nunez, Rodriguez; Gimenez, Sepulveda
Atletico Tucuman possible starting lineup:
Durso; Lagos, Flores, Romero, Orihuela; Tesuri, Acosta, Sanchez, Pereyra; Coronel, Estigarribia
We say: Banfield 1-1 Atletico Tucuman
Both sides will be expecting to pick up a positive result on Saturday, and it would not be a surprise to see a home or indeed an away victory here, but we believe that a tight match will finish all square.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
