Gimnasia de Mendoza – Defensa y Justicia
Gimnasia Mendoza endured their most painful setback since returning to the top flight last weekend, as despite taking an early lead, they were thrashed 5-1 on the road by archrivals Independiente Rivadavia. The heavy defeat brought an abrupt end to their promising three-match unbeaten run in league play under new head coach Darío Franco (two wins and one draw). As a result, they remain on 16 points and are now out of contention for the playoffs, although they are still clear of immediate relegation danger for the time being. On a more positive note, Gimnasia have won their last two matches at home.
Defensa y Justicia collapsed in their last league outing, as they were clearly outplayed by a rotated Boca Juniors side and suffered a heavy 4-0 home defeat following a deeply concerning performance. El Halcón are going through a sharp decline, now on a four-match losing streak in the Torneo Apertura, a run that has pushed them out of the playoff spots. They remain on 19 points in Group A and now need to win in Mendoza in order to advance.
Defensa must win, Gimnasia are playing for nothing but they need to recover from the 1-5 in the derby and they’ve scored in 5 of the last 6 games, so 2 in this one looks very likely.
BET: OVER 1.75 @ 1.81