Defensa y Justicia vs Tigre

Defensa y Justicia are deflating their performance in the context of a good season. Last time out, the team couldn’t stop Argentinos Juniors’ offensive power and ended up losing 3-1 away. That result means El Halcon claimed a single victory in their last seven matches in the Liga Profesional, alongside three draws and three defeats. Julio Vaccari’s men remain on 33 points, which allows them to stay occupying one of the Copa Sudamericana places so far. On a positive note, Defensa are unbeaten in their last five home matches in domestic action, having won three and drawn two. On Thursday 29, they won 3-1 at home over Colombia’s Millonarios in a Copa Sudamericana group game, clinching a ticket to the round-of-16. Centre back Nazareno Colombo is suspended for Sunday after reaching the yellow-card limit in the league. David Barbona is available after succumbing to a muscle problem shortly before the game at Argentinos Juniors.

Tigre new coach Juan Manuel Sara had a happy debut at the club as his team beat Velez Sarsfield 2-1 at home to take a big breather in the context of a rough year. The hard-fought victory means El Matador put an end to a seven-match winless streak of three draws and four defeats in league action and made it 25 points in the Liga Profesional table, making a seven-point gap over the relegation spot in the aggregate rankings. On a sorry note, Tigre are without a win in their last eight domestic matches on the road, having drawn three and lost five in that spell. On Tuesday 27, Tigre lost 2-0 away at Brazil’s Sao Paulo in a Copa Sudamericana group match but advanced to the playoff.  

Tigre won’t have two key players in midfield like Castro and Menossi and they are still adapting to their new coach, so even if Defensa hasn’t been convincing lately, they come from a good midweek win and should be confident enough to win here.

BET: Defensa y Justicia -0.5 @ 2.05