Boca Juniors, Argentina's most popular club, will be pressured to claim maximum points when they welcome title candidates Newell's Old Boys to the Bombonera stadium on Thursday.
But beating Newell's will be no straightforward task, but in fact a rather complex one, as the Rosario-based club currently lie in second-place of the league standings and are the only team yet to taste defeat this season.
Boca, who were held to a goalless draw by Colon de Santa Fe on Sunday, currently find themselves in fifth-place, nine points behind league leaders Velez Sarsfield but with a game in hand, and are more than aware that if they fail to win on Thursday their title aspirations will come to an abrupt end.
Julio Cesar Falcioni, the coach of Boca, is expected to make three changes to the side that drew with Colon, with a recuperated Clemente Rodriguez taking the place of Fernando Evangelista. Matias Caruzzo will replace suspended centre-back Rolando Schiavi and Santiago Silva, who missed Sunday's game due to suspension, will return to the attack in the place of Lucas Viatri.
Meanwhile, Gerardo Martino, the coach of Newell's, will make two changes to the side that were held to a frustrating home draw by Quilmes last Friday. Leonel Vagioni will replace fellow defender Victor Lopez after completing his suspension, while Mauricio Sperdutti will take the place of Fabian Munoz in the midfield.
Newell's, who count with high-profile players like Gabriel Heinze, Maxi Rodriguez and Ignacio Scocco, will rate their chances of returning home with at least a point, something that will definitely serve them very well considering the difficulty teams experience when playing at Boca's intimidating Bombonera stadium.
As well as the title, both Boca and Newell's will be hoping to claim positive results that would move them closer towards securing passage into the 2013 Copa Libertadores, South America's biggest club competition.
Boca's last four matches
Nov 11, 2012: Colon 0-0 Boca Juniors (Argentine League)
Nov 7, 2012: Arsenal 0-0 Boca Juniors - Arsenal won on penalties - (Argentine Super Cup)
Nov 3, 2012: Boca Juniors 3-1 San Lorenzo (Argentine League)
Oct 28, 2012: River Plate 2-2 Boca Juniors (Argentine League)
Newell's last four matches
Nov 9, 2012: Newell's Old Boys 0-0 Quilmes (Argentine League)
Nov 4, 2012: Godoy Cruz 1-1 Newell's Old Boys (Argentine League)
Oct 27, 2012: Newell's Old Boys 2-1 Arsenal (Argentine League)
Oct 20, 2012: Racing Club 0-0 Newell's Old Boys (Argentine League)
Facts
- The last time Boca faced Newell's at the Bombonera was in the 2012 Clausura, when they won 2-0 thanks to goals from former players Juan Roman Riquelme and Dario Cvitanich.
- Newell's Old Boys are currently on a 15-game unbeaten streak, with seven wins and seven draws.
Prediction
Boca 2-1 Newell's
