Newell’s – Independiente
Newell’s Old Boys started the new year plagued by the same issues that marked last season. In the debut of the Sergio Gómez–Favio Orsi coaching partnership, La Lepra delivered a very poor performance and lost 2-1 away to Talleres. With just one win in their last nine league matches (two draws and six defeats), they have dropped to 26th in the relegation averages and are very likely to be involved in the survival battle this year. Adding to their concerns, Newell’s have collected only two points from the last 12 available at their own stadium.
Independiente had to settle for a 1-1 home draw against defending champions Estudiantes in their 2026 season opener. It was a frenetic match: they took the lead early but then had to protect the point with ten men for more than 40 minutes. El Rojo picked up their first point of the Torneo Apertura and extended their unbeaten league run to five matches (four wins and one draw). They also won their most recent away game, a 1-0 victory over Deportivo Riestra, which ended a ten-match winless streak on the road in league play (five draws and five defeats). Santiago Montiel is suspended for Tuesday after being sent off against Estudiantes. Walter Mazzanti will replace him in the only expected change. Independient have a lot of potential as shown during the preseason and the first half ot he game against the defending champions Estudiantes, where they deserved more than a draw but had to play the whole 2nd part with 10 men. Newell’s striker Matias Coccaro will have his first start after coming from the bench and scoring a goal last week, so I like the chance of having at least two goals here.