Barracas Central – Racing
After a strong first half of the year, Barracas Central were the worst team in the 2024 Liga Profesional, which dropped them to 19th place in the aggregate table. The year ended with a 3-3 draw against Lanus as hosts at Huracan. In fact, El Guapo won only one of their last seven league matches (alongside four draws and two losses) and are also on a 13-match winless streak at home, with seven draws and six losses since April, when they defeated Instituto 3-2. Coach Ruben Insua has a revamped squad, featuring new faces like Marcos Ledesma (from Gimnasia LP) and Fernando Tobio (Huracán). On the other hand, Sebastian Moyano and Carlos Sanchez have left the club in a total of 17 departures. In a year that will be remembered for their Copa Sudamericana title, Racing Club also had an impressive league campaign, finishing fourth in the aggregate table, which would have secured their qualification for the 2025 Copa Libertadores regardless. They ended the year with a 1-0 home victory over River Plate, breaking a two-match losing streak that had taken them out of contention for the Liga Profesional title. In their last away match, La Academia lost 3-1 to CA Central Cordoba after three consecutive wins on the road in this competition. The club retained most of its squad, with Juan Quintero (sold to America de Cali, Colombia) being their only notable departure. On the other hand, Matías Zaracho returned to the club from Atlético Mineiro, Brazil. Barracas was one of the worst defenses last season and I can’t see them improving much this year, but with 17 new players it will take them time to find their best form. Racing lost playmaker Juanfer Quintero but they should still have a strong attack with Adrian Martinez, Vietto and the addition of Adrian Balboa, so I expect to see goals here and an open game where both can score.