Independiente – Barracas Central
Independiente new coach Julio Vaccari experienced a disappointing debut. Last Thursday, El Rojo made a lot of mistakes and succumbed to a deserved 3-1 away defeat to Instituto. They continue to produce an irregular campaign in the Liga Profesional, accumulating six points in as many rounds. A negative streak of a single victory in seven league games (along with four draws and two losses) keeps them far away from the continental places in the aggregate table. At home, Independiente won one, drew one and lost one in this competition.
Barracas Central continue to get worse game after game in Liga Profesional action. Last Friday, the team succumbed to a heartbreaking 1-0 home defeat to Newell’s Old Boys at Huracan after conceding in stoppage time. As a result, El Guapo made it five league matches without a win (one draw and four losses), a streak that dropped them out of the Copa Sudamericana zone in the aggregate table as they accumulated just four points in this competition. Barracas also lost their last two away matches (to Union Santa Fe and Gimnasia LP). All regulars are at Alejandro Orfila’s disposal to visit Independiente on Tuesday.
Barracas has been so poor lately that I’m going to trust Independiente here despite their poor performance in the 1st game. I expect them to improve in the short term under their new coach Julio Vaccari, and playing at home against this Barracas that looked awful lately looks like a good opportunity for them.