Looking to quickly respond following a first defeat of the season last time out, Gimnasia will welcome Barracas Central to Estadio Juan Carmelo Zerillo for an Argentine Primera Division clash on Wednesday night.
El Lobo suffered a maiden loss at the hands of Instituto in their most recent fixture, whilst Los Camioneros were unable to get anything from their home tie with Huracan.
Match preview
After enjoying a three-game unbeaten streak in the Argentine Primera Division to start the 2024 term on an extremely positive note, Gimnasia were sent back down to earth on June 3, when Instituto managed to secure only their second win of the new term.
Continuing his sensational form at the beginning of the campaign, Uruguay youngster Matias Abaldo netted the opening goal of the contest for El Lobo, but Instituto completed a comeback to steal all of the points, with Santiago Rodriguez and Gregorio Rodriguez getting onto the scoresheet.
Despite the disappointment of defeat last time out, Gimnasia will be relatively content with their start to the 2024 season following a lowly 22nd-placed finish in 2023, with Wednesday's hosts currently in sixth position, just three points behind early pacesetters Racing Club.
Tasked with steering El Lobo towards an unlikely first-ever Primera Division crown, Marcelo Mendez has relished in a productive start to life in the managerial hotseat, with the 43-year-old losing just one of his five games in charge across all competitions to date.
For the first time since October 2023, Barracas Central have suffered back-to-back defeats domestically after a 2-0 defeat versus Union was followed up by an identical scoreline against Huracan last Tuesday, with Los Camioneros struggling to make an impact on home soil.
Despite dominating the possession statistics, Barracas were unable to breach the net of Huracan goalkeeper Sebastian Meza, with strikes either side of the half-time whistle from Ignacio Pussetto and midfielder Hector Fertoli sealing a comfortable success for the visitors.
After collecting just the single point from their last three Primera Division contests, Wednesday's visitors have dropped to 21st out of 28 in the top-flight standings, four points ahead of bottom side Central Cordoba de Santiago, who are yet to pick up a result this season.
Owing to their lack of firepower at the business end of the pitch, Los Camioneros have only found the net on two occasions in five league fixtures so far, with only fellow strugglers Godoy Cruz, Deportivo Riestra and San Lorenzo scoring fewer goals in the same period.
Team News
Harbouring hopes of continuing to be a first-team regular for Gimnasia in 2024, 21-year-old Ivo Mammini suffered a major fitness blow in March, with the striker now sidelined until November due to a cruciate ligament injury.
After conceding twice last time out, there could be some alterations to El Lobo's backline, although Yonathan Cabral and Leonardo Morales are expected to keep their spots at centre-back.
Barracas - like their hosts on Wednesday - also have a player in the medical room due to a cruciate ligament injury, with Lucas Lopez set for an extended spell out of action.
Maximiliano Puig made the bench in the middle of April during a cup match before picking up a tendon issue in May - the 23-year-old is expected back at some point this month.
Gimnasia possible starting lineup:
Insfran; Pintado, Morales, Cabral, Colazo; Castro, Saravia, De Blasis, Dominguez; Castillo, Abaldo
Barracas Central possible starting lineup:
Moyano; Mater, Capraro, Goni, Insua; Herrera, Arce, Candia, Cantero, Zalazar; Aguirre
We say: Gimnasia 2-1 Barracas Central
Gimnasia will be looking to preserve their 100% home record at the beginning of this season, and considering their promising start to the term, this should be possible against a stuttering Barracas side.
Los Camioneros have only scored once away from home this campaign and have not found the net in their last two matches, and we are predicting another tough evening for the visitors in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
