On Sunday, title contenders River Plate will host Lanus at Estadio Mas Monumental in the first Argentine Primera Division encounter between the two this season.
A 2-0 defeat at Deportivo Riestra dropped La Banda down to second in the overall table, while Granate are eighth following a 2-0 triumph over Racing Club.
Match preview
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The title aspirations of River Plate suffered a blow on matchday five as they saw their two-game winning run across all competitions end.
Martin Demichelis's men have lost two encounters in this phase of the domestic campaign, one more than they incurred in round one.
A 3-2 defeat versus Boca Juniors in April is the only time anyone has beaten them at home in 2024, with River Plate winning all three of their phase two encounters at Estadio Mas Monumental by a combined margin of 9-1.
Losing a domestic affair has been a rarity for them this season, while they have not suffered consecutive defeats in league play since September 2022 (two).
Their two losses in this phase has them sitting second overall, a point behind Talleres for the title, though only two points currently separate them from Estudiantes, who are fifth.
Los Millonarios have won their last five meetings versus Lanus across all competitions, with their previous domestic home triumph against them dating back to 2022 (2-1).
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After a disappointing 2-0 defeat in their opening game of the second phase, Lanus have recovered nicely, with points in four successive Primera Division affairs.
That has vaulted Ricardo Zielinski's men into the top-half of the cumulative standings, a point above Velez Sarsfield for a place in the Copa Sudamericana next season.
At the same time, they are a mere three points behind Estudiantes for a spot in the qualifying stage of the next Copa Libertadores.
Their away form in the Primera Division seems to be preventing them from claiming a place in the Libertadores, with Lanus winless in their previous three domestic encounters as the visiting team.
This weekend, they have a chance to win consecutive league contests for the first time since March, when they claimed back-to-back triumphs away from home.
It has been over nine years since Granate earned an away point against River Plate in league play (1-1 draw in September 2015), while they have not beaten them domestically at Estadio Mas Monumental since June 2011 (2-1).
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Team News
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River Plate could be without Daniel Zabala this weekend due to a meniscus issue and Agustin Sant'Anna has a knee injury, while neither are expected to return until the end of the month.
In their previous domestic home fixture, Miguel Borja notched a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Belgrano, drawing even with Facundo Colidio for the team lead in this phase of the competition (three).
Lanus will likely be missing Luciano Boggio and Walter Bou because of hamstring issues, Ezequiel Munoz is recovering from a strain injury and Eduardo Salvio is unlikely to play as he has a problem in his foot.
Bou had the second goal for them in a shutout victory over Racing Club, with the winner coming courtesy of Ramiro Carrera.
River Plate possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Simon, Boselli, Pirez, Diaz; Fonseca; Fernandez, Echeverri, Lanzini; Borja, Colidio
Lanus possible starting lineup:
Aguerre; Morgantini, Dominguez, Luciatti, Soler; Carrera, Perez, Loaiza, Acquino; Moreno, Torres
We say: River Plate 2-0 Lanus
Los Millionarios always seem to bounce back from a poor performance, and we expect them to come out with plenty of determination and overwhelm a Lanus side that have not been quite as consistent as them.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
