Rosario Central have a chance to win their first match of the second phase in the Argentine Primera Division when they host Godoy Cruz on Thursday at Estadio Gigante de Arroyito.

Canalla are second from the bottom with just a single point after two matches in round number two, while Tomba scored twice in the second half on Sunday, stunning the aggregate league leaders Racing 2-0.

Match preview

In the early stages of this final round of domestic fixtures, a lack of finishing continues to plague Rosario Central, a side who tallied the fewest goals in Group B last round (16) and have yet to find the back of the net in the second phase of this campaign.

After missing a spot in the Copa Sudamericana by three points a season ago, this team will have their work cut out for them to qualify for that tournament this time around.

Currently, they are nine points back of Sarmiento for that last place after finishing dead-last in the opening phase of their group.

One of the oldest clubs in Argentina employs a formation similar to a diamond but with more attacking intent, which has rarely seen favourable results.

That forward-thinking mentality has left large gaps of space unoccupied, allowing their opponents to enter their third of the field with relative ease.

They tend to have good spells of possession, though there have sometimes been some issues holding onto the ball for longer stretches when under pressure.

Godoy Cruz were able to get their second phase campaign back on the right foot over the weekend, moving into eighth in the table, five points back of a Copa Sudamericana position next year.

Their consistency at home seems to be the only thing keeping them from last place, losing only once domestically in the previous round, winning three in a row without conceding.

Unfortunately, Rodolfo Diego Flores rarely saw his side play with that kind of composure on the road as Bodeguero conceded 14 times away from home in the opening phase, though one of their victories came against Rosario Central (2-1).

One thing this side are not afraid of is being physical, even if it means conceding a few free kicks or receiving a few cards, committing 20 fouls versus Racing.

So far in this domestic season, the team located in the province of Mendoza have not fared well when having to chase a match, capturing only one domestic encounter this year when conceding first.

Team News

Milton Caraglio had the only goal for Rosario in their previous outing versus Godoy, which ended in a 2-1 defeat, while goalkeeper Gaspar Servio has only conceded once in his last three domestic encounters at home.

Academia have scored six goals in their previous three Primera encounters at home, with Marco Ruben netting twice, while their other tallies came courtesy of Luciano Ferreyra, Alejo Veliz, Julian Velazquez and Walter Montoya.

Somoza made one change to his starting 11 in their 2-0 defeat to Huracan on Friday, as Nazareno Romero replaced Marcelo Benitez, who was forced out due to a red card suspension.

Goals from Bruno Leyes and Ezequiel Bullaude helped Godoy reverse a one-goal deficit to defeat Rosario last season, while a brace from Salomon Rodriguez gave them a 2-0 victory on Sunday, though it came at a price as Franco Negri was dismissed in the 64th minute and will not be available for this encounter.

Gonzalo Abrego is the only other player to have found the back of the net for Tomba in the second phase of the campaign, while there is a three-way tie for the team lead in assists so far with Matias Ramirez, Martin Ojeda and Tadeo Allende each with one in this phase of the competition.

There were several new faces in the starting 11 this weekend, as Diego Rodriguez picked up the clean sheet in goal, while Elias Lopez, Pier Barrios, Nelson Acevedo and Bullaude all found themselves in the opening lineup.

Rosario Central possible starting lineup:
Servio; Blanco, Komar, Almada, Martinez; Yacob; Romero, Montoya; Ferreyra; Frias, Veliz

Godoy Cruz possible starting lineup:
D. Rodriguez; Lopez, Barrios, Ferrari, Ortiz, Gonzalez; Abrego, Acevedo, Ojeda; Allende, S. Rodriguez

We say: Rosario Central 1-0 Godoy Cruz

Home field has been very kind to Canalla so far in this campaign, and while they have not shown a ton of quality in the final third, they are facing a side in Godoy that leave plenty of openings while lacking structure away from home, something which we believe Rosario will be able to use to its advantage.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

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