Two sides sitting near the bottom of the table in the second phase of the Argentine Primera Division campaign, will square off in league play on Friday as Belgrano host Central Cordoba from Estadio Julio Cesar Villagra.
Following a 3-0 defeat at River Plate, El Celeste are 27th in the second-phase standings with just a single point after two matches in this round, one point above El Ferroviario, who are dead last, losing 4-2 to Boca Juniors over the weekend.
Match preview
Early into the second phase of this competition, Belgrano are still struggling defensively, conceding three or more goals in their last three Primera encounters.
After 16 league fixtures this year, Juan Cruz Real's men are near the bottom of the overall table in 22nd but comfortably above the relegation zone, boasting 10 more points than Tigre.
In their previous two domestic home games, Belgrano have conceded a combined eight goals, one more than they had allowed in their first six league fixtures at Estadio Julio Cesar Villagra this year.
Their last three league contests at home have all ended in defeat, with this side failing to score in two of those instances.
That being said, they have not lost any of their previous three home matches in all competitions, winning the last time out, 1-0 versus Real Tomayapo on matchday five at the Copa Sudamericana.
Belgrano have never lost a competitive fixture to Central Cordoba in three prior meetings, conceding a goal or fewer in two of those outings.
We may be into a new phase of the Argentine Primera Division campaign, but Central Cordoba look like the same team that struggled throughout the first round.
The club based in Santiago del Estero are winless in their last seven domestic affairs, moving them down to 26th in the overall table, six points above the relegation line.
Lucas Gonzalez has seen his side claim a mere two points away from home domestically in 2024, while they have been outscored by a combined margin of 8-0 in their previous two league games played outside Estadio Alfredo Terrera.
They are winless in their last two league contests when scoring the opening goal, dropping seven points in three domestic encounters this year when doing so.
With seven goals conceded in just two matches in this phase of the competition, Central Cordoba have allowed more than anyone in the second round thus far.
Although Cordoba have never beaten Belgrano, they have picked up a single point the last two times that they have faced them, including their only prior visit to Estadio Julio Cesar Villagra, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
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Team News
Neither Ulises Sanchez nor Lucas Passerini will be available for Belgrano on Friday as they are both recovering from ACL injuries, while Alex Ibacache could be back in a few weeks from an illness.
Nicolas Meriano will not be ready to return from his muscle issue until late May and Franco Jara, who is dealing with a hamstring strain, is not expected to be back until the middle of June.
In their defeat versus Boca this past weekend, Cordoba were missing Santiago Laquidain following his red card after 24 minutes in their defeat to River Plate (3-0).
Jose Gomez took his place in the back three on Sunday, with the other change from matchday one to two being Matias Godoy coming into the starting 11 in place of Thiago Nuss.
Belgrano possible starting lineup:
Losada; Facello, Moreno, Rebola, Delgado; Velazquez, Longo, Quignon, Reyna; Suarez, Chavarria
Central Cordoba possible starting lineup:
Ingolotti; Gomez, Valdez, Leizza; Morales, Vazquez, Atencio, Sanabria; Nuss, Montoya; Monzon
We say: Belgrano 2-0 Central Cordoba
The visitors' backline has been far too inconsistent throughout the domestic campaign for us to believe they will manage to shut down a side that have been particularly potent at home in recent outings.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
