Banfield vs River Plate
Banfield put up a good fight at defending champions Colon last time out and secured a scoreless away draw. However, the team continue to struggle in the Liga Profesional: having won only one of their last 11 league matches (along with six draws and four defeats), El Taladro accumulated only 14 points in as many matches, which represents a poor campaign for them.
Thanks to a brace from Julian Alvarez, River Plate managed a highly-celebrated success in the Superclasico, beating Boca Juniors 2-1 at home last Sunday. That victory extended their unbeaten streak to nine matches in the league (seven wins and two draws): as a result, El Millonario leapfrogged Talleres and are now league leaders on 30 points. On away turf, River are on four league games without defeat, having won three and drawn one in that stretch. Coach Marcelo Gallardo will miss Julian Alvarez, Franco Armani, Paulo Diaz, Robert Rojas and Nicolas De la Cruz, all involved in the World Cup Qualifiers. Furthermore, Braian Romero is out injured, as well as Matias Suarez, Enzo Perez, Hector Martinez and Jonatan Maidana.
Banfield is of course not a reliable team, but River will miss almost every important player they have due to international duty or injuries so I have to go with the hosts to get at least a draw.