Gimnasia vs Defensa y Justicia
Gimnasia LP will almost certainly have a rough year this time and it started that way: the team lost 3-1 away at Velez Sarsfield in coach Sebastian Romero’s debut after a transfer market in which the club couldn’t hire any reinforcements and lost several important players on the other hand. That defeat also means El Lobo are on five league matches without a win, having drawn one and lost four in that spell. At home, Gimnasia took a single point from the last 12 available since beating Sarandi Arsenal 2-0 in September.
Defensa y Justicia opened up the new season in a sorry way. In the context of a thrilling match, the team made several defensive mistakes and succumbed to a 4-2 home defeat to Huracan in round 1. That result also represented the first league defeat after nine matches (six victories and three draws), a streak that allowed El Halcon to secure a spot in the Copa Sudamericana. In fact, Defensa have been unbeaten in their last four away matches in domestic action, winning two and drawing two.
I’m going to oppose Gimnasia here again as I think they will have a very difficult season after losing so many important players.