Boca arrived in Mendoza where a crowd was waiting for him. (Mario Quinteros)
Boca Juniorswith his power hit by 10 victims, some sensitive, visits Godoy Cruz de Mendoza at the beginning of the date 21 of the LProfessional Football League (LPF)with the mission to recover those absences and keep three points to reach the summit.
The match will be played from 19:00 at the Malvinas Argentinas stadium in Mendoza, will be refereed by Pablo Echavarría and broadcast on television by ESPN Premium.
some are expected 20,000 Boca fans in the Mendoza stadium, because the provincial authorities allowed the presence of the so-called “neutrals” for the match and the request for tickets in the previous hours exceeded expectations.
Xeneize’s team leading Hugo Ibarra He has 36 points alongside Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, two fewer than playmaker Atlético Tucumán (38), and comes 0-0 against Huracán in the match that ended a streak of five straight wins.
His rival, Godoy Cruz, has definitively left behind his concern for relegation and with 32 points is in the top lot, although in the last three presentations he has drawn one and lost two, the last against Barracas Central (3 -1).
In Boca, Negro Ibarra, in his best moment as DT since taking office last July, you will have to reset your computer almost completely because it has players affected by the FIFA date and injured.
In this context, Boca has called up the two starting wings, the Peruvian Luis Advíncula and the Colombian Frank Fabra, in their selected teams, and will not even be able to count on Marcos Rojo, physically just enough due to a strong contracture, nor with Nicolás Figal for the second consecutive match due to injury.
Neither the scorer went to Mendoza Dario Benedettoin another sensible minimum for the operation of the equipment.
As if that were not enough, the other Peruvian of the team, Carlos Zambrano, will not be there, even with his country’s national team, which prevents Ibarra from having a replacement for Figal, and these losses add to those of Nicolás Orsini as a replacement for the forwards, plus those who were known in advance: Norberto Briasco, and further back Sebastián Villa and Exequiel Zeballos, these two have longer injuries.
Thus Marcelo Weigandt, Agustín Sandez and Gabriel Aranda will join the starting team in place of Advíncula, Fabra and Rojo, while Vázquez will replace Benedetto.
These absences will mean that Boca will have 12 of the 18 who will travel to Mendoza from the club’s lower leagues, including new faces like Lautaro Di Lollo and Nahuel Genez, 18 and 19, both defenders, and Cordovan striker Gonzalo Morales, 19. years and top scorer in the Riserva division headed by Mariano Herrón.
Two other youngsters who will be on the bench as substitutes and better known will be Brandon Cortes and Massimiliano Zalazar.
Boca, who won the League Cup last May and with that title qualified for the Libertadores Cup 2023will face a difficult challenge in Mendoza due to the number and importance of absent players, in a tournament definition phase.
Is that the team led by Ibarra will play again next Wednesday against Quilmes for the quarter-finals of the Argentine Cup in which he defends the title and with a possible semi-final against River on the horizon, and the following weekend he will have to focus again on the championship in which he has the chance to become champion.
Of course, to continue at the top, they will have to get a good result in Mendoza with a formation that in defense will depend a lot on goalkeeper Agustín Rossi, the midfield is covered by Pol Fernández and Alan Varela, while in attack a greater contribution is expected from Santa Fe Luis Vázquez, who scored only one goal in the tournament.
The people of Mendoza, led by the technical duo that composes it Favio Orsi and Sergio Gomezhe depends too much on Martín Ojeda to reach the rival goal, especially after Ezequiel Bullaude’s departure for Dutchman Feyenoord, and also because Uruguayan Salomón Rodríguez has lowered his level a lot.
In any case Tomba is favored not only because he usually raises the level at home but also for the practically alternative formation that Boca will field.
The last time Boca appeared in Mendoza was on 20 March 2016 and they won 4-1 with goals from Julio Buffarini, Eduardo Salvio, Carlos Izquierdoz and Jorman Campuzano, with the curiosity that none of them are still in the club. .
Probable formations
Godoy Cruz: Diego Rodriguez; Pier Barrios, Gianluca Ferrari, José Canale and Franco Negri; Gonzalo Abrego, Nelson Acevedo, Tomás Castro Ponce or Valentín Burgoa and Martín Ojeda; Enzo Larrosa or Tomás Badaloni and Matías Ramírez or Salomón Rodríguez. DT: Favio Orsi and Sergio Gómez.
Boca Junior: Agostino Rossi; Marcelo Weigandt, Facundo Roncaglia, Gabriel Aranda and Agustín Sandez; Guillermo “Pol” Fernández, Alan Varela, Martín Payero and Juan Ramírez or Aaron Molinas; Luca Langoni and Luis Vazquez. DT: Hugo Ibarra.
Referee: Pablo Echavarria.
Camp: Malvinas Argentinas, from Mendoza.
Starting time: 19.
TV: ESPN Premium.
Source: Clarin
