Seeking to open up a three-point lead at the top of the Argentine Primera Division table, Huracan play host to Racing Club at the Estadio Tomas Adolfo Duco on Saturday.
This will be the first meeting between the sides since their eight-goal thriller in September 2023, when the Globo stormed to a 5-3 victory in the round of 16 of the Copa Argentina.
Match preview
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Huracan continued their impressive early-season form as they picked up a 1-0 victory over Rosario Central when the two sides squared off at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito last Saturday.
In an end-to-end affair, Walter Mazzantti's 30th-minute strike was enough to separate the two sides as Rosario Central saw their run of five consecutive league games without defeat come to an end.
With that result, Huracan are now the only side yet to suffer defeat in the new Argentine top-flight campaign, having picked up five wins and three draws from their eight matches to start the season.
Coming off a horror 2023 campaign, where they finished 25th in the table and just three points above rock-bottom Arsenal de Sarandi, the Globo's impressive start to the season has been owing to their improvements at the defensive end of the pitch.
Frank Kudelka's men have kept five clean sheets and shipped just three goals so far — the second-fewest conceded in the league — while they have scored 10 goals at the opposite end of the pitch.
Huracan now return home, where they are unbeaten in each of their last 11 matches across all competitions, picking up seven wins and four draws since a 2-1 loss against Talleres back in January.
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Racing Club, on the other hand, maintained their 100% home record in the league as they dug deep to secure a 2-1 victory over a resilient Union side at the Estadio Presidente Peron last Sunday.
After falling behind to Santiago Sosa's 10th-minute opener, Union upped the ante and levelled matters in the 72nd minute courtesy of Gonzalo Javier Morales, but Agustin Almendra struck moments later to hand the hosts a narrow victory.
Following last weekend's result, Racing have now won six consecutive matches on home turf, including each of their four Primera Division games this season — a run which has seen them reach the knockout stages of the Copa Sudamericana.
While La Academia have been near impenetrable on home turf, they have struggled to replicate this form on the road, where they have failed to win four of their last five matches across all competitions, losing three and claiming one draw since the start of May.
However, Racing will be backing themselves this weekend as they take on a Huracan side against whom they are unbeaten in 12 of their last 17 encounters, picking up nine wins and three draws since August 2008.
Having picked up 16 points from their opening eight matches, Gustavo Costas's men head into the weekend third in the Primera Division standings, just two points and two places adrift of Huracan at the top of the pile.
Team News
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Huracan remain without the services of 23-year-old forward Marcelo Perez, who is currently on duty with the Paraguayan Men's Football Team at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
On the injury front, the Globo will take to the pitch without American midfielder Alan Sonora, who is currently recuperating from an ankle injury.
Veteran striker Ramon Abila has missed the last two games due to a muscle strain while Fernando Tobio has been out of action since coming off injured against Independiente Rivadavia on June 15.
Racing will have to cope without the services of centre-back Marco Di Cesare, who is currently on duty with Argentina at the ongoing Olympics in France.
Agustin Garcia has missed the last three games since picking up an ankle injury in June and the 32-year-old is also out of contention for Saturday's game.
Huracan possible starting lineup:
Galindez; De La Fuente, Pereyra, Carrizo, Benitez; Echeverria, Fattori, Alarcon; Mazzantti, Ramirez, Cabral
Racing Club possible starting lineup:
Arias; Sosa, Colombo, Quiros; Martirena, Nardoni, Almendra, Rojas; Salas, Martinez, Quintero
We say: Huracan 2-2 Racing Club
The last eight meetings between Huracan and Racing have produced a combined 30 goals and we anticipate another action-packed contest with plenty of goalmouth action at the Estadio Tomas Adolfo Duco. Both sides head into the weekend evenly matched on paper and we predict that they will cancel out each other's efforts.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
