River Plate vs Estudiantes Preview

February 17, 2013 By Gregory Sica

Topics: River Plate, Estudiantes LP, Torneo Final

Los Millonarios take on Estudiantes in a game which will mark Ramon Diaz's return to the Monumental as the coach of the club after a decade.

Argentine giants River Plate will be looking to win their second consecutive match of the Torneo Final against Estudiantes de La Plata on Sunday.

Having beaten Belgrano de Cordoba 2-1 last weekend, Los Millonarios will be aiming for another victory that would maintain their perfect record so far this season.

The pre-game build-up has been very intense, as not only do River entertain Estudiantes, one of the strongest teams in the Argentine First Division, but it will mark the return of Ramon Diaz to the Estadio Monumental.

The last time Diaz was at the stadium as River's coach was back in May of 2002, when he guided the club to the Torneo Clausura title, with a 5-1 rout of Buenos Aires neighbours Argentinos Juniors.

River, who are unbeaten at home in their last five games, will field an identical side as to the one that beat Belgrano, besides the inclusion of Ariel Rojas for suspended River Plate captain Leonardo Ponzio.

Juan Iturbe, who recently joined the club from FC Porto, will occupy a place in the squad for the first time, and could possibly make his official debut from the substitute's bench.

Estudiantes arrive at the Monumental after a difficult week, as team coach Diego Cagna heavily criticized his squad after a disappointing display in the 3-1 home defeat to Tigre last weekend.

Cagna has already confirmed that he will make two changes to the side, with Leandro Benitez replacing Maximiliano Nunez and Jonathan Silva coming in for Raul Iberbia.

Estudiantes, who have yet to find a suitable replacement for the retired Juan Sebastian Veron, haven't managed to register a victory in their last five road games, with three losses and the same number of draws.