Lanus vs Independiente Rivadavia
Lanús felt the effects of the squad rotation made by head coach Mauricio Pellegrino and suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat in their visit to Vélez Sarsfield two weeks ago. That result ended their four-match unbeaten league run (three wins and a draw) and left them on 10 points in the Torneo Clausura—still enough to remain in the playoff spots, though far from competing for a place in next season’s international cups. At home, Lanús have collected four of nine possible points in this competition. Last Monday, Lanus lost 1-0 to Argentinos Juniors in the Copa Argentina quarter-finals.
Independiente Rivadavia returned to winning ways at the right time, defeating Argentinos Juniors 2-1 at home two weeks ago thanks to goals from Fabrizio Sartori and Matías Fernández. With that result, La Lepra snapped a four-match winless league run (two draws and two losses) and moved up to eight points in the Torneo Clausura, sitting just outside the Copa Sudamericana qualification zone via the aggregate table (behind Tigre only on goal difference). Independiente have collected four of nine possible points on the road this semester. Last weekend, Independiente Rivadavia advanced to the Copa Argentina semi-finals by beating Tigre 3-1.
After losing in the Copa Argentina Quarterfinals last Monday, and with a very tough game in the Copa Sudamericana Quarterfinals next weekend, the very irregular Lanus will use at least a mixed lineup here to rest some of their starters. This should be a good opportunity for the visitors to grab some very needed points that would put them inside the playoffs zone of their group.