Two teams with identical records in the second phase of the Argentine Primera Division will square off on Friday as Central Cordoba host Argentinos Juniors at Estadio Alfredo Terrera Central Cordoba.
El Ferroviario have seven points after five encounters in this round, while El Bicho are eyeing a place in next year's Copa Libertadores, trailing Boca Juniors for a group stage spot by four points in the aggregate table.
Match preview
After finishing the opening phase second from the bottom in Group B with 15 points, the northern Argentines have been playing catch-up.
Sergio Rondina's men are just one win away from matching their victory total from the first round, an encouraging sign when you consider that there are over 20 games left to be played.
Half-time adjustments and minor tactical tweaks have enabled them to transform some tough starts of late, as all five of their goals scored in the second phase have come in the second half.
Central Corboda have not come away empty-handed from any league fixture this season when opening the scoring and they have not squandered a 1-0 advantage in their two matches this round in which they drew first blood.
They can be an aggressive team who like to play on the front foot, showing a lot more patience in their five matches played in round number two.
Argentinos Juniors have maintained a solid home form domestically, drawing Arsenal Sarandi 1-1 last Sunday, extending their unbeaten run at Estadio Diego Armando Maradona to seven consecutive matches.
They have managed to find a breakthrough in the early stages of their encounters, with three of their five goals scored this round coming in the opening half.
Unfortunately for manager Gabriel Milito, his players have lacked that quality on the road, without a goal in their two away games in the second round, firing only five total shots on target in their 1-0 defeats to Sarmiento and Newell's Old Boys respectively.
When Argentinos have the ball, they are a tough team to dispossess, with over 70% of the possession in three of their last five encounters, though their two victories over that stretch came when they had fewer than 60% of the ball over 90 minutes.
While their results have been mixed, this team seem to have a good balance of skilful and creative midfielders, with good chemistry and the ability of controlling the overall pace of a game.
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Team News
Cordoba striker Francisco Gonzalez Metilli, who is on loan from Argentinos Juniors, is tied for second domestically in assists this round with two, as he set up both goals scored by Claudio Riano last Saturday, while Cristopher Toselli only had to make one save to maintain a clean sheet.
Alejandro Martinez notched the opening goal in their previous domestic encounter versus El Bicho, while Renzo Lopez is the only other player on this team besides Metilli and Riano to have found the back of the net in this phase of the competition.
As many as four players could be missing for Cordoba this weekend, as Juan Cruz Kaprof has a muscle strain, and Matias Laba has a problem with his hip.
Jose Leguizamon is dealing with an issue in his knee, and Andres Mehring is unlikely to be available due to an ACL injury.
Juniors striker Nicolas Reniero scored three minutes into their fixture last weekend, his first of the second round, with Lucas Villalba collecting his first assist on that play.
Mateo Coronel answered the opening goal from Martinez in their earlier meeting against Cordoba this season, while Thiago Nuss has tallied twice this round to lead Juniors in goals.
Milito inserted several new faces into the starting 11 against Arsenal Sarandi, with Javier Cabrera, Matias Galarza, David Zalazar, Nicolas Reniero and Gaston Veron all starting in that encounter.
Central Cordoba possible starting lineup:
Toselli; Bay, Di Benedetto, Pereyra, Diaz; Laba; Martinez, Lopez, Soraire, Metilli; Riano
Argentinos Juniors possible starting lineup:
Lanzillota; Sanchez, Torren, Villalba; Coronel, Florentin, Vera, Carabajal, Zalazar; Reniero, Nuss
We say: Central Cordoba 0-0 Argentinos Juniors
Both of these sides have played well, with a dash of quality, but neither have been consistent, and we anticipate Juniors will have the ball for long stretches, but they have struggled to make their lengthy possession pay off.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
