River Plate set out in search of a fifth consecutive home victory when they welcome Tigre to the Estadio Mas Monumental in round four of the Argentine Primera Division on Sunday.
El Matador, who have failed to taste victory in any of their last 10 matches across all competitions, will head into the weekend looking to end this dry spell and get their new league campaign up and running.
Match preview
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River Plate capped off their Copa Libertadores group-stage campaign in style as they picked up a convincing 2-0 victory over Deportivo Tachira at the Estadio Mas Monumental on Thursday evening.
In a game where Jean Gutierrez received his marching orders, Colombian sterner Miguel Borja turned in a superb individual performance as he netted twice in the second half to hand the hosts all three points.
With that result, River Plate finished unbeaten in Group H, picking up five wins and one draw in their six matches to clinch top spot with a six-point lead over runners-up Nacional.
Back home, Martin Demichelis's men have struggled to grind out results of late as they suffered a 1-0 loss against Argentinos Juniors last Saturday thanks to a first-half strike from Alan Lescano.
Three days prior, River Plate were dumped out of the Copa Argentina in the opening round courtesy of a shock penalty-shootout defeat against second-tier Temperley when the sides squared off at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas.
Demichelis will hope that his side's midweek Copa Libertadores triumph can serve as a springboard for a fine run of results as they look to return to winning ways in the league.
Tigre, on the other hand, were left empty handed yet again as they suffered a 4-0 hammering against Racing Club when the teams met at the Estadio Jose Dellagiovanna last Friday.
In a one-sided affair, Gaston Martirena, Adrian Martinez, Maximiliano Salas and substitute Juan Fernando Quintero all found the back of the net to hand the visitors their second win of the league campaign in style.
Sebastian Dominguez's men have now lost all but one of their last 10 matches across all competitions since March's 1-0 victory over Central Cordoba — with a 1-1 draw at Rosario Central on May 21 being the exception.
This dire run of results saw Tigre's Copa Argentina campaign also come to an early end as they were beaten on penalties by second-division side Club Atletico Chacarita Juniors on May 17.
While Tigre will be looking to stop the rot and get their camp up and running, next up is the challenge of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in 14 of their last 18 encounters, picking up nine wins and five draws since November 2008.
Team News
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River Plate will take to the pitch without former West Ham United man Manuel Lanzini, who is currently recuperating from a foot injury, while Gonzalez Pirez has been ruled out through a hamstring problem.
Ignacio Fernandez has missed the last two matches after coming off with a back injury in the cup defeat against Temperley on May 22 while Daniel Zabala has been sidelined since April with a muscle injury.
Tigre will be without several key players down the spine of the team as the likes of Juan Cruz Esquivel (knee), Brahian Aleman (foot), Nahuel Genez (hamstring) and Gian Nardelli (ankle) all continue their spells on the sidelines.
The duo of Gonzalo Flores and Paraguayan defender Pablo Adorno are currently recuperating from collarbone and groin injuries respectively and will also play no part in Sunday's game.
Experienced midfielder Ijiel Protti has been out of action since suffering an Achilles tendon injury back in February 2023 and the 29-year-old is also out of contention for the visitors.
River Plate possible starting lineup:
Armani; Sant'Anna, Boselli,P Diaz, E Diaz; Villagra, Aliendro, Barco; Echeverri, Colidio, Borja
Tigre possible starting lineup:
Zenobio; Ortega, Fernandez, Lomonaco, Marchese; Garay, Cardozo; Galvan, Maroni, Armoa; Contin
We say: River Plate 2-0 Tigre
Buoyed by their midweek victory, River Plate will return to league action with renewed confidence as they look to find their feet. Tigre's form is currently nothing to write home about and we see Demichelis's side coming away with all three points in front of their home supporters.
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Joshua Ojele
