Estudiantes vs Defensa y Justicia
Defending champions Estudiantes are now living a difficult reality. Last Monday, the team couldn’t stop the league leaders’ offensive power and lost 2-0 away at Velez Sarsfield. As a result, Eduardo Dominguez’s men are on six matches without a win in this competition (two stalemates and four losses) and remain on 17 points after 15 rounds of Liga Profesional action. At home, Estudiantes managed only two points from the last nine available since beating Gimnasia LP 4-1 in the city derby in July.
Defensa y Justicia lacked effectiveness last Saturday and had to settle for a disappointing scoreless home stalemate against San Lorenzo in an intense game. Having won only one of their last four league games (along with one stalemate and two defeats), El Halcon made it 12 points in the Liga Profesional, which keeps them out of the fight for a Copa Sudamericana ticket in the aggregate table. On away turf, Defensa remain without a win in their last eight in domestic action, taking two points from 24 on offer in that spell. Playmaker Rodrigo Bogarin succumbed to a muscle injury and will miss out.
Estudiantes are on a bad run, but meeting the worst team of the tournament at home should be a good opportunity to get back on track.