Velez – Atletico Tucuman
Vélez Sarsfield are maintaining their strong league form. In the last round, coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto rotated heavily, yet the team still managed a 2-1 away win over San Martín SJ. El Fortín extended their unbeaten run to five matches in the competition (four victories and one draw), reaching 18 points and all but securing a playoff berth. They are also unbeaten in their last five home league games, with four wins and one draw. On Tuesday 23, they lost 1-0 away at Racing Club for the return leg of the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals. Maher Carrizo is involved in the U20 World Cup and won’t feature. Imanol Machuca received a one-year ban over suspected document forgery. Jano Gordon succumbed to an ankle problem and will miss out.
Atlético Tucumán took full advantage of the reserve lineup fielded by River Plate and secured a comfortable 2-0 home win last weekend, with goals from Clever Ferreira and Leandro Díaz. El Decano ended a short two-match losing streak in the league and returned to the playoff spots, reaching 12 points in Group B. On the downside, Atlético have not won away from home since January: 11 matches, with two draws and nine defeats. There are no new absences to report for Monday. The XI will be repeated.
Velez needs to recover from the Copa Libertadores elimination but I expect them to have a hard time here with some important missings in attack: Carrizo, Machuca, Lanzini are all out, Atletico Tucuman comes from a solid performance against River and I expect them to take something from this game.
BET: Atletico Tucuman +0.5 @ 1.97