Independiente fans should have felt disappointed after the team’s 1-0 away defeat at relegation candidates Patronato as Sebastian Beccacece’s men produced a worrying performance. In fact, El Rojo’s campaign has been highly irregular so far, having collected six points in four games (with one in hand against Newell’s Old Boys). On a positive note, Independiente won their only home match this term: it was a 2-0 success over Colon. There is no fresh injury news at Independiente. Striker Silvio Romero returns after missing the last league game due to a personal problem.
Lanus continue to climb positions in both tables under boss Luis Zubeldia. After a 1-0 home win over Central Cordoba (which was their third consecutive triumph in the Superliga), El Granate are now on ten points in the fourth spot and also opened a six-point gap above the bottom three in the relegation rankings. On away turf, Lanus lost 3-0 at River Plate and beat Union Santa Fe 2-1 in week four. Last weekend, Lanus advanced to the Copa Argentina’s quarter-finals following a 4-1 win over Argentinos Juniors.
5 of the 6 Lanus games this season so far had at least 2 goals as they’ve been playing open football, and I expect the same thing here against this very irregular Independiente.