Gimnasia de Mendoza vs Independiente
Gimnasia Mendoza once again proved up to the challenge last Friday, but also suffered another defeat. An unfair and perhaps unfortunate 1-0 home loss to Gimnasia LP means El Lobo Pituco have lost four of their last five league matches, with just one victory in that span. As a result, Ariel Broggi’s side have collected six points from the same number of games in the Torneo Apertura, leaving them once again in the lower section of the relegation-average table. At Estadio Víctor Legrotaglie, Gimnasia have recorded one win and two losses so far this season.
Independiente were unable to hold on to their lead last Saturday and ended up paying the price against one of the standout teams of the season so far, losing 3-2 away to Independiente Rivadavia, the current leaders of the overall standings. As a result, El Rojo remain on nine points in the Torneo Apertura, although they are still inside the playoff positions in Group A. The team managed by Gustavo Quinteros also saw two unbeaten runs come to an end: nine league matches — six wins and three draws — and three away games in this competition — two wins and one draw.
Gimnasia won’t have veteran defender Ezequiel Muñoz and are in big need of a good result after losing 4 of the last 5, Independiente comes from a 2-3 defeat just 72 hours ago, so I expect an open game here between two teams that have been weak in defense lately.