Estudiantes v Instituto

Estudiantes seem to be improving after a little slump. Last time out, the defending champions beat Banfield 2-1 away thanks to a strike from Joaquin Tobio in the 89th minute. El Pincha made it two consecutive victories in the Liga Profesional to accumulate 23 points in 17 rounds, climbing into 12th spot of the respective table. Eduardo Dominguez’s men succumbed to a single defeat across their last ten domestic matches at Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi, winning five and drawing four. Winger Tiago Palacios reached the yellow-card limit and is suspended for Sunday. Guido Carrillo and Santiago Arzamendia remain sidelined while Luciano Lollo returns.

Instituto keep their standards up. Two weeks ago, the team secured a massive 2-0 home success over San Lorenzo, with Gonzalo Requena and Ignacio Russo scoring. La Gloria put an end to their three-game winless run of one draw and two defeats in league action to make it 28 points in the Liga Profesional, which allows them to remain into the Copa Sudamericana zone in the aggregate table. On a sorry note, Instituto won only one of their last six on away turf, drawing two and losing three. Defensive midfielder Roberto Bochi will feature on the bench after overcoming a long-term knee problem.

I expect Estudiantes to struggle in attack in this game without veteran striker Guido Carrillo (the team’s top scorer) and winger Tiago Palacios so even though Instituto has been irregular lately, I expect them not to lose against a rival that should be weaker in offense.

BET: Instituto +0.25 @ 2.05