A pair of sides currently riding lengthy unbeaten normal-time runs in the Argentine Primera Division will face each other on Monday as Racing Club take on Argentinos Juniors at Estadio Presidente Peron.
Coming into this encounter, the Avellaneda club have points in five successive domestic encounters, playing to a 4-4 draw with Belgrano in their opening second-round fixture, while El Bicho defeated Rosario Central 3-2, extending their unbeaten run to seven matches, not counting the first-round playoffs.
Match preview
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Racing have had no trouble scoring domestically this season, netting more than any side in Group B of the opening phase in this competition (24 goals), and their attacking quality has continued into this stage.
Gustavo Costas has seen his side score a combined seven goals in their previous two matches in all competitions, recently coming away with a 3-0 victory against Coquimbo on matchday five at the Copa Sudamericana.
El Primer Grande will enter this match with points from their last two domestic encounters at home and posting a clean sheet in their final Primera Division encounter in the opening phase when they defeated Lanus 2-0.
Their draw against Belgrano was just the second time domestically this year that they had come back to earn a point when conceding the opening goal, though they have yet to win a Primera match this season when doing so.
After 15 league contests, they are currently eighth in the aggregate table, but only four points separate them from Argentinos Juniors in third place and an automatic berth in the Copa Libertadores group stage next season.
La Academia are unbeaten in their last five home matches in all competitions versus Argentinos, four of which were shutout victories.
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In their first match of the second phase, the club based in La Paternal delivered another resilient performance, their eighth domestic triumph overall this season.
That is perhaps no big surprise anymore as Pablo Guede's men have reacted well when faced with a setback all year, earning at least a point in five of their opening phase matches after conceding the opening goal and doing so in their first encounter of round two as well.
On the other hand, they dropped six points in the opening round when drawing first blood, which could have vaulted them into first above River Plate after the opening 14 matchdays.
In the opening phase, they were at their worst when playing away from home, winning just once, while they enter this encounter on a two-match road losing run, with both of those defeats coming at the Copa Sudamericana.
Their consistency throughout most of the opening round has made them among the teams to catch in the overall table, currently just a point behind Estudiantes and River Plate, who are second and first respectively, in the aggregate standings.
Argentinos won their last league fixture versus Racing Club (1-0 in 2023) but have not beaten them away from home since the round of 16 at the Copa Argentina in 2014 (1-0).
Team News
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German Conti and Juan Quintero sat out of the Racing encounter against Belgrano as they are both dealing with muscle injuries and are not expected to return for a few weeks.
An own-goal from Nahuel Losada helped put them on level terms in their previous domestic encounter, while Roger Martinez notched a brace and captain Leonardo Sigali collected his first of the second round.
Alan Rodriguez is the only injury concern for Argentinos heading into this clash, as the Uruguayan midfielder is likely out until early June with a knee injury.
Luciano Gondou, Alan Lescano and Francisco Alvarez each found the back of the net last Friday, enabling them to come back from a goal down on two occasions to pull out a narrow victory.
Racing Club possible starting lineup:
Cambeses; Martirena, Sigali, Colombo, Rojas; Solari, Nardoni, B. Rodriguez; Urzi, R. Martinez, Carbonero
Argentinos Juniors possible starting lineup:
D. Rodriguez; Santamaria, Alvarez, Palacio, Vega; Lescano, Gamara, Oroz; Gondou, Heredia, Romero
We say: Racing Club 2-0 Argentinos Juniors
These are two dangerous attacking sides, but Racing seem to be a lot sharper on the back end at home, particularly when facing Argentinos, which is why we are giving them a slight edge.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
