Gimnasia avoided relegation thanks to the pandemic as they were bottom in the respective table after a 0-0 home draw with Banfield. However, El Lobo was improving: they had secured seven points from the last 12 on offer and managed five games unbeaten at home (two wins and three draws). Coach Diego Maradona lost six players this winter, but only Jonathan Agudelo (to Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Israel) and Maximiliano Caire (Oriente Petrolero, Bolivia) were highly-considered by him.
Patronato also were into the relegation zone when Covid-19 broke in football, having lost to Defensa y Justicia away and San Lorenzo at home in their last two matches. They have been winless in the last 11 games on the road, drawing five and losing six. Coach Gustavo Alvarez lost 15 players this winter and he will certainly miss Cristian Tarragona (to Velez Sarsfield), Gabriel Avalos (Argentinos Juniors) and Matias Ibanez (Racing Club). The club recruited nine new faces instead.
The Argentinean league starts tonight after 8 months with a new cup format with 6 groups of 4 teams each in the 1st stage, and tonight we have this meeting between two poor teams but while Gimnasia was showing signs of improvement before football was stopped in March, Patronato was a big mess and losing 9 players definitely can’t help.
It’s Diego Maradona’s 60th birthday today and their players will make an extra effort to give him a win.