Central Cordoba vs River
CA Central Cordoba produced an irregular campaign last year, ending up in 19th in the aggregate table after losing four of their last five league games (along with only one victory). They are now threatened by relegation, only five points above the relegation zone (excluding the newly-promoted side clubs). In fact, El Ferroviario earned only one point from the last nine on offer at home. New coach Leonardo Madelon, who will replace Abel Balbo, has 19 new faces at his disposal, with Luis Rodriguez (from Colon), Marcos Ledesma (Platense) and Lucas Gamba (LDU Quito, Ecuador) as the most relevant ones.
River Plate will start life after Marcelo Gallardo (who were in charge for over eight years). In 2022, the team finished in third in the aggregate table, winning five of their last six league games (along with one loss) and also their last four on the road. However, they haven’t lifted any titles in the whole year. Coach Martin Demichelis has taken over and Ignacio Fernandez returned from Brazil’s Atletico Mineiro, along with Matias Kranevitter (Monterrey, Mexico) and Enzo Diaz (Talleres). Meanwhile, Juan Quintero left the club to join Junior in Colombia.
First game in 8 years where Marcelo Gallardo won’t be River’s coach and while I expect them to still keep high standards, I imagine Central Cordoba in the usually hot Santiago del Estero could be a tough rival.