Atletico Tucuman vs Newell’s
Atletico Tucuman are still struggling on away turf. Last time out, the team succumbed to a deeserved 1-0 defeat on their visit to Gimnasia LP. Even though they lost just two of their last six league games (along with three victories and one draw), El Decano are now out of the fight for a continental ticket despite having earned 36 points in 24 rounds of Liga Profesional action. On a positive note, Atletico are holding a three-match winning streak at Estadio Jose Fierro (over Lanus, Sarmiento and Huracan). Coach Facundo Sava can pick from all his regulars on Monday.
Newell’s Old Boys finally took a little breather last Tuesday, when they showed improvements to beat Independiente 2-1 at home with Ever Banega and Juan Manuel Garcia under interim boss Gabriel Medina. La Lepra stopped a six-game winless streak of one draw and five losses in league action to make it 24 points in as many Liga Profesional rounds, just enough to escape the bottom spot (advantaging Barracas Central by four at the moment). In fact, Newell’s are without a win in their last eight as the visiting side, drawing three and losing five. Coach Mariano Soso will make his debut on Monday. Goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos had to be replaced against Independiente due to a knee problem and will remain sidelined for several months.
Atletico has scored in their last 14 home games this season (including 4 only in the last game, a 4-2 win against Huracan) while Newell’s has been awful defensively lately conceding at least once in their last 9 matches, so considering they are both playing for nothing and could be relaxed, I’ll take the OVER here.