Looking to make it two wins from two and move top of the Argentine Primera Liga standings, Central Cordoba take a trip to the Estadio Florencio Sola to face Banfield on Wednesday.
The hosts, on the other hand, head into the game on a run of eight consecutive outings without a win across all competitions and will be looking to end this dry spell.
Match preview
Banfield failed to get their Argentine Primera Division campaign up and running as they were held to a goalless draw by Arsenal de Sarandi at the Estadio Julio Humberto Grondona last weekend.
In a game where clear-cut chances were at a premium, Claudio Vivas's men's struggles at the attacking end of the pitch were on display once again as they failed to really threaten the hosts before settling for a share of the spoils.
This followed a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Newell's Old Boys in the season's curtain-raiser on June 4, when Juan Manuel Garcia and Ramiro Sordo scored first-half goals to hand Los Leprosos all three points.
Banfield have now failed to taste victory in any of their last eight games across all competitions, claiming five draws and losing three games since a 3-1 victory over Talleres on April 24.
While El Taladro will look to end this dry spell and get their domestic campaign moving, next up is the challenge of taking on an opposing side who they have failed to defeat in each of their previous three meetings between the teams since March 2020.
Elsewhere, Central Cordoba turned in a performance of the highest quality last time out as they picked up their first win of the season out when they saw off high-flying Boca Juniors 1-0 on home turf.
Despite seeing just 30% of the ball possession at the Estadio Alfredo Terrera, Francisco Metilli struck the only goal of the game 11 minutes into the second period to condemn the visitors to their first defeat in 11 consecutive outings.
Prior to that, Sergio Rondina's men were held to a 1-1 draw by Barracas Central in the season opener on June 4, when 23-year-old Ivan Tapia and Renzo Lopez scored for either side to force a share of the spoils.
Central Cordoba head into Wednesday's game on a run of just one win from their last five games across all competitions, claiming two draws and losing twice while scoring six goals and conceding seven in that time.
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Team News
Banfield will take to the pitch without the services of Alexis Maldonado and Mauricio Cuero, who have both been sidelined through cruciate ligament injuries.
Veteran midfielder Jesus Datolo is also a doubt for Wednesday's game after the 38-year-old missed the trip to Arsenal de Sarandi at the weekend through illness.
Following their rootless attacking display in the aforementioned game, Dabove could make a few changes up top with 22-year-old Juan Manuel Cruz and San Lorenzo loanee Julian Palacios returning to the starting XI.
As for Central Cordoba, 28-year-old goalkeeper Andres Mehring continues his long road to full fitness after picking up an ACL injury, while Jose Leguizamon has been sidelined with a knee problem.
They are joined on the club's injury table by the duo of Matias Laba and 23-year-old forward Agustin Gallo, who are recuperating from hip and cruciate ligament injuries respectively.
Off the back of a solid defensive showing against Boca Juniors, Rondina could name an unchanged centre-back pairing of Fabio Pereyra and Matias Ezequiel Di Benedetto, shielding goalkeeper Cristopher Toselli for the third consecutive game.
Banfield possible starting lineup:
Bologna; Coronel, Gissi, Maciel, Abecasis; Domingo, Cabrera; Romero, Urzi, Galoppo; Enrique
Central Cordoba possible starting lineup:
Toselli; Ramirez, Pereyra, Ezequiel, Benedetto, Bay; Metilli, Soraire, Kalinski, Martinez; Kaprof, Lopez
We say: Banfield 1-1 Central Cordoba
Buoyed by their victory at the weekend, Central Cordoba will take on Banfield with renewed confidence as they look to get the ball rolling in the new campaign. However, with each of their last three meetings ending all square, this fixture has proven to be a fiercely-contested one. We predict the spoils will be shared once again with the struggling hosts doing just enough to leave with a point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
