Union – Deportivo Riestra
Unión de Santa Fe delivered one of their poorest performances of the season, failing to take advantage of playing with a numerical edge for nearly an hour and suffering a concerning 2-0 defeat away to Defensa y Justicia. That result brought an end to their six-match unbeaten run in the league — three wins and three draws — and dropped them to seventh place in Group A with 16 points, although they remain inside the playoff qualification spots. At home, they are unbeaten in their last seven matches, recording three wins and four draws since their 2-0 defeat to Aldosivi back in October. On Monday, March 30, they won 2-0 over Agropecuario in the opening round of the Copa Argentina. Julián Palacios, who missed the last league match due to a muscle injury, is available again for Friday’s clash against Deportivo Riestra. Deportivo Riestra once again delivered an encouraging performance in their most recent league outing, but were unable to hold onto their lead and had to settle for a 1-1 home draw against San Lorenzo. As a result, they remain winless in the Torneo Apertura and have collected seven points, sitting just two above the relegation zone in the overall standings. In fact, Gustavo Benítez’s side are now on a 15-match winless run in league play — eight draws and seven defeats. As the visiting side, they have gone eight without a win, recording four draws and four losses in that span. Deportivo Riestra are still winless after 11 rounds and with a terrible scoring record of only 3 goals scored. To make things more difficult, next week they will have their first ever international game when they debut in Copa Sudamericana so they might not be 100% focused here and I like the chances of Union getting the 3 points to climb higher into the playoffs zone of Group A.