Newell’s – Central Cordoba

Newell’s Old Boys performed clearly worse than expectations in the Liga Profesional, accumulating 35 points after a three-match winless streak of two draws and one defeat (closed by a 1-1 home stalemate against Talleres’ alternative XI in round 27). That campaign is not yet enough even to climb into the Copa Sudamericana zone in the aggregate table (trailing tenth-placed Argentinos Juniors by five). Gabriel Heinze’s men are unbeaten in their last seven domestic matches at Estadio Marcelo Bielsa, but they won two of those and drew the other five. Carlos Ordonez (from Envigado, Colombia) is the most relevant signing in a total of three while Willer Ditta has been sold to Cruz Azul, Mexico. During the break, Newell’s were knocked out of the Copa Sudamericana, losing 2-1 to SC Corinthians on aggregate in the round of 16.

CA Central Cordoba are threatened by relegation as a result of a worrying run of four consecutive defeats in the Liga Profesional, closed by a 2-0 home loss to Atletico Tucuman in round 27. As a result, El Ferroviario ended up on 29 points, just four above the drop spot in the aggregate table. In fact, coach Leonardo Madelon left the club in agreement with the board during the break. Central also are on six matches without a win on away turf, having drawn four and lost two in that spell. New boss Omar De Felippe made his debut last Tuesday, when the side lost to Independiente on penalties following a scoreless draw in the Copa Argentina second round. Lucas Besozzi (sold to Brazilian club Gremio) and Fabio Pereyra (Huracan) are the biggest losses in the transfer window.

Central Cordoba with a new coach, with a defensive style, Newell’s usually finding trouble to score, so I expect nothing but a tight game here.

BET: UNDER 2 @ 1.83