Both aiming to build on positive runs of results in recent weeks, Platense and Lanus will do battle at the Estadio Ciudad de Vicente Lopez on Friday in the 22nd round of Argentina Primera Division fixtures this term.
Thanks to two consecutive wins, the hosts have climbed to 12th spot in Argentina's top flight, while their visitors sit fourth following a six-match unbeaten run.
Match preview
After a 19th-placed finish in the second phase of last season's Argentine Primera Division, Platense experienced a relatively tough start to the new term, as they managed just four wins and 17 points from their opening 15 outings, culminating in a five-match winless run and three straight league defeats between late April and early May.
They appear to have turned a corner in recent weeks, though, as Martin Palermo's side firstly arrested the losing run with a 3-0 beating of Racing Club.
The Calamares would go on to suffer two further defeats in the following three outings, either side of a triumph at home to Belgrano, but they now head into Friday's meeting on the back of consecutive wins, both of which included clean sheets, as they firstly beat Tigre 1-0 earlier in June thanks to Nicolas Castro's goal.
Following that triumph, Palermo's men most recently travelled to take on Arsenal Sarandi on Sunday, and after Sasha Marcich put them ahead on the stroke of half time, Franco Baldassarra netted his side's second in the dying minutes to wrap up their eighth three-point haul of the campaign.
Thanks to their back-to-back victories, Platense have quickly climbed to 12th spot in Argentina's top flight, and with just a three-point gap up to ninth-placed Argentinos Juniors and 10th-placed Godoy Cruz, they will hope to continue their climb with another win on Friday.
Their visitors travel in a positive run of their own, though, with Lanus aiming to add to a six-match unbeaten run in the Primera Division.
After finishing 27th in the 28-team division in last season's second phase, Lanus have kicked off the new term in style, as they currently sit fourth with 37 points on the board from their opening 21 matches, having managed 10 victories while only suffering four defeats.
The most recent of those losses came away at Gimnasia La Plata in mid-May, and the Granate have bounced back in style since, adding 12 points to their tally in the last six attempts courtesy of three victories and three draws, firstly beating Newell's Old Boys and Atletico Tucuman either side of a stalemate with Independiente.
Following back-to-back 1-1 draws away at Boca Juniors and Union, Frank Kudelka's side were most recently in action at home to second-placed Talleres on Sunday, and after going behind inside the opening five minutes and trailing until after the hour mark, the Granate were able to turn the game on its head and make a return to winning ways, as Leandro Diaz levelled the game in the 67th minute before Cristian Lema quickly netted the decisive goal.
With that triumph having cut the gap to Talleres to just two points, while Argentinos Juniors are only a point better off in third spot, Lanus will be keen to extend their positive run with the chance to climb into the top two if they can pull off a victory on their travels.
Team News
Martin Palermo could opt to deploy an unchanged Platense starting XI on Friday, after their 2-0 triumph away at Arsenal Sarandi last time out, although Franco Baldassarra will have a claim to come in from the outset after scoring their second off the bench in that win.
Nicolas Servetto should continue to lead the line, having netted six goals in 21 league appearances since arriving on loan from Almagro, while Ronaldo Martinez and Sasha Marcich will offer additional attacking support from the wings.
Captain Nicolas Castro is a mainstay in midfield, having chipped in with four league goals of his own so far, while Ignacio Vazquez and Gaston Suso should again partner up at the heart of a back four after seeing the clean sheet out last time out.
While Lanus may have also wanted to come in unchanged after a win of their own last weekend, they will be unable to call on midfielder Tomas Belmonte, who was shown a second yellow card deep into injury time in their game against Talleres.
In his absence, Facundo Perez will likely come into the engine room from the start alongside Raul Loaiza and Matias Esquivel, while Cristian Lema and Felipe Aguilar are bound to keep their places at the heart of the defence.
Leandro Diaz will continue to lead the line, having already notched up 10 goals in 17 league appearances this term, including their equaliser on Sunday, with Franco Orozco and Pedro de la Vega likely to flank him in a front three.
Platense possible starting lineup:
Macagno; Lozano, Vazquez, Suso, Infante; Martinez, Cacciabue, Castro, Marcich; Taborda; Servetto
Lanus possible starting lineup:
Morales; Caceres, Aguilar, Lema, Mino; Loaiza, Perez, Esquivel; Orozco, Diaz, De La Vega
We say: Platense 1-1 Lanus
With both sides full of confidence and boasting plenty of quality, we cannot quite pick a winner on Friday and anticipate a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
