Banfield – Newell’s
Ariel Broggi had a successful debut as Banfield’s head coach, leading his team to a 1-0 victory over Defensa y Justicia as visitors in the league opener. The win came thanks to a goal from Tomas Nasif, a forward recently arrived from River Plate’s reserves, and a crucial penalty save by Facundo Sanguinetti. This result gave El Taladro their first three points in Group A and ended an eight-match winless streak in the league (three draws and five losses). Newell’s Old Boys extended their poor form at the start of 2025. Last Thursday, the team suffered an unexpected 1-0 loss at home to Independiente Rivadavia, with a missed penalty by Ever Banega that could have equalized the match. The team have won only one of their last four league matches, with one draw and two losses and should improve soon in order to avoid potential relegation threats as the team are 20th in the point-averages table. In fact, Newell’s have won just one of their last ten away games, drawing four and losing five. Winger Francisco Gonzalez is involved in a transfer negotiation with Defensa y Justicia and won’t play on Monday. Banfield looked decent in the debut against Defensa while Newell’s looked exactly like the poor team they were in 2024, struggling to even create goal chances. They’ve signed ex Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas but he’s not available yet. I’ll trust the hosts here to at least avoid a defeat at this good odds.