Atletico Tucuman can extend their unbeaten run at home in the Argentine Primera Division to four matches when they welcome Platense to Estadio Monumental Jose Fierro on Sunday.
El Decano suffered their first defeat of the second phase last weekend, 2-0 at Talleres Cordoba, while Platense picked up their first point in this round, playing to a 0-0 draw with Independiente.
Match preview
The thrill of victory was short-lived for Tucuman, who suffered a second successive defeat away from home in this competition last weekend and have not scored a goal in either of those encounters.
However, Facundo Sava's men have been much more potent at Estadio Monumental Jose Fierro, netting six goals in their last three domestic contests there.
In their previous league fixture at home, this side came away with an impressive 1-0 triumph over Boca Juniors, while four of their five domestic clean sheets this year have occurred on home soil.
El Gigante del Norte are unbeaten in the Primera Division this year when scoring the opening goal but have only done so three times during this campaign.
Coming into this encounter, Tucuman are near the bottom of the overall table with just 13 points, though they are safely above the relegation line, sitting seven points above Tigre.
They have never lost a competitive home fixture against Platense, winning the previous meeting at Estadio Monumental in 2022 (2-1).
Throughout the 2024 domestic campaign, Platense have struggled to score goals, and that trend has continued into phase two of this competition.
The club, based in Florida, Buenos Aires, went goalless in half of their matches in the opening phase of the 2024 Primera Division season (7/14) and have yet to find the back of the net in their two second-round fixtures.
Co-coaches Favio Orsi and Sergio Gomez saw their team's three-match unbeaten run in this competition end when Marron suffered a 2-0 defeat versus Newell's Old Boys in their opening match of the second phase.
All four of their domestic triumphs in 2024 have occurred when netting the opening goal, as they boast a 100% record in the Primera Division this season when doing so.
Eight of their league points this year have occurred away from home, while they have claimed victory in two road matches, which is halfway towards matching their entire total from the previous campaign.
While they have never won an away match versus Tucuman, Calamares have collected at least a point in three of their previous four meetings against them.
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Team News
In their defeat versus Talleres Cordoba, Tucuman were missing Lucas Ambrogio with an ACL issue, Nestor Breitenbruch sat out due to a calf strain and Gianluca Ferrari was sidelined because of a hamstring strain.
Tucuman had the same starting 11 from matchday one to two, although there were two newcomers that entered their previous league fixture as substitutes, Nicolas Castro and Nicolas Servetto.
Carlos Villalba will not return to the Platense lineup until early July, as the defensive midfielder is dealing with a broken foot.
Platense had the same starting 11 from matchday one to two, but three new substitutes appeared against Independiente, including Gabriel Hachen, Maximiliano Urruti and Ronaldo Martinez.
Atletico Tucuman possible starting lineup:
Durso; Lagos, Flores, Romero, Infante; Tesuri, Sanchez, Acosta, Pereyra; Bajamich, Coronel
Platense possible starting lineup:
Cozzani; Saborido, Vazquez, Suso, Marcich; Picco; Russo, Juarez, Gomez, Ocampo; Pellegrino
We say: Atletico Tucuman 1-0 Platense
Tucuman have played with a lot more poise at home and have beaten some strong sides in recent weeks, which should give them a psychological edge against Platense, who are struggling to find the back of the net.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
