River Plate vs Banfield
River Plate succumbed to a huge blow last Sunday, when they clearly deflated their performance and were beaten by arch-rivals Boca Juniors 1-0 away in the Superclasico. That defeat stopped a six-match unbeaten streak of four victories and two draws in league action and also prevented them from approaching the top of the league table: El Millonario remain on 29 points, five behind leaders Atletico Tucuman.
Last time out, Banfield reversed the score to beat Colon 2-1 at home, with striker Juan Cruz netting the winner just ten minutes before the final whistle. In the context of an irregular campaign in the Liga Profesional, with 22 points in 18 games, El Taladro suffered a single defeat in their last four games in this competition, winning two and drawing one, which places them into the fight for a Copa Sudamericana ticket again.
Losing a Superclasico takes usually some time to recover so even though River is the clear best team here, this handicap looks too big.