Velez – Tigre
Vélez Sarsfield suffered a harsh setback in their last league match, losing 4-1 away to River Plate. That result ended their two-game winning streak in the league and left them on 14 points, just one above the relegation zone. At home, El Fortín have taken only seven of the 24 possible points in the Torneo Apertura. Christian Ordóñez was sold to Parma in Italy, while Lisandro Magallán arrived from Pumas UNAM in Mexico. During the break, the team competed in the Copa Libertadores—advancing to the Round of 16—, the Copa Argentina (losing 2-0 to Lanús in the second round), and the Supercopa Argentina (beating Estudiantes 2-0 last Tuesday), as well as playing two friendlies (one draw and one loss). Valentin Gómez is suspended for Monday’s match. Aaron Quiros will take his spot. The rest of the XI will be similar to the one that started on Tuesday. Tigre ended their Torneo Apertura campaign with an undeserved 2-1 loss away to San Lorenzo, a result that extended their winless streak in the league to six matches overall (three draws and three defeats) and to three away from home (one draw and two losses). Despite this, their campaign is still good enough to keep them in Copa Sudamericana qualification spots for now. Braian Martínez (from Independiente), Tomás Cardona (Talleres), and Bruno Leyes (Godoy Cruz) are the most notable additions, while Nehuén Paz (Huracán) and Lorenzo Scipioni (Olympiakos, Greece) have left the club. During the break, Tigre beat Banfield 2-0 to advance to the Round of 16 of the Copa Argentina and played two friendlies, winning one and drawing the other. I like the chances of seeing at least a couple of goals between these two good attacking teams. Velez looked decent in the Supercopa win against Estudiantes, but they will miss their best defender, Valentin Gomez, so I wouldn’t be surprised if both teams can score.