Two sides who find themselves at opposite ends of the Argentine Primera Division second-phase table will square off in the ninth round of group games on Wednesday, as Independiente welcome Barracas Central to the Estadio Libertadores de America.
With six rounds of games to go before the knockout stage, the hosts sit second in group A with 15 points, while their visitors sit down in 12th spot despite only being five points worse off.
Match preview
Heading into the ninth of 14 rounds of Argentine Primera Division second-phase group games, Independiente certainly find themselves in a strong position in their qualification bid, having started strongly after an underwhelming first-phase campaig, in which they finished 24th in the domestic top flight with just 28 points from their 27 matches.
Following a tough end to that term, El Rojo began in the second phase in mid-August at home to Colon and had to endure a losing start as they were beaten 1-0, but they have since established themselves in the group's leading pack having gone undefeated in their seven outings since.
That streak started with three consecutive victories over Velez Sarsfield, Gimnasia La Plata and Huracan under the new management of Carlos Tevez, before they played out back-to-back draws with Rosario Central and Instituto to move onto 11 points from six matches.
Aiming to continue the positive run under their new boss, El Rojo then travelled to Racing Club and scored another impressive victory, taking all three points with a 2-0 triumph courtesy of goals from Alexis Canelo and Chaco Martinez, before most recently taking on Argentinos Juniors away from home and extending their unbeaten run with a goalless stalemate.
Still without a defeat under Tevez and having now put themselves second in their group with six games left to play in their qualification bid, albeit with just a two-point lead over fifth-placed Velez Sarsfield, Independiente will be keen to continue their fine run on Thursday and make a quick return to winning ways to further strengthen their position.
They welcome a Barracas Central side who, on the contrary, are aiming to close the gap to their opponents and the top four after a much tougher start to the second phase of Argentinian top-flight action, having ended the regular season in 15th spot with 35 points from 27 games.
In their first four games of the second-phase group, Los Camioneros managed just three points through a 2-1 victory over Arsenal Sarandi alongside defeats to Velez Sarsfield, River Plate and Atletico Tucuman, before they managed a crucial second three-point haul in a 1-0 triumph against Banfield courtesy of Alexis Dominguez's first-half goal.
Sergio Rondina's side were unable to build any momentum on the back of that result, though, then suffering a 4-0 thrashing away at Talleres before being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Sarmiento after initially going ahead through Juan Ignacio Diaz inside five minutes.
Then sitting on just seven points from seven outings, Los Camioneros most recently hosted Colon last Monday, and after initially going behind, they eventually gave their hopes of breaking into the top four a crucial boost, winning 2-1 thanks to second-half goals from Dominguez and Carlos Arce, with the decisive goal coming nine minutes from time.
Such a result saw Barracas Central move up to 12th spot in their group, and with six games to go and a three-point gap up to the four quarter-final spots, they will look to make it back-to-back victories on Thursday to further improve their chances of overcoming the tough start and progressing.
Team News
Carlos Tevez could opt to deploy an unchanged Independiente starting XI following their goalless draw away at Argentinos Juniors last time out, with the clean sheet bound to earn Cristian Baez, Felipe Aguilar and Joaquin Laso starts in a back three again.
With veteran forward Martin Cauteruccio remaining sidelined by injury, their line will again be led by Matias Gimenez, who has taken his tally to eight goals for the season in all competitions by scoring three times in the second phase group stage thus far.
He will likely be joined by Chaco Martinez and Alexis Canelo in attack, while Ivan Marcone and Federico Mancuello are bound to again partner up in midfield.
Barracas Central may also be unchanged from their important victory over Colon last time out, and in Rondina's preferred 4-2-3-1 shape, Alexis Dominguez should again get the nod over Bruno Sepulveda to lead the line having scored two goals and contributed an assist in their last four second-phase games.
Captain Ivan Tapia will again play a key role in the middle of a supporting trio behind the lone forward, having scored four goals and provided seven assists in all competitions so far this season, while Facundo Mater and Brian Calderara will hope to keep their starting spots on the wings.
Behind that trio, Siro Rosane should again join Carlos Arce in the engine room, while Francisco Alvarez and Juan Ignacio Diaz are bound to again partner up in defence.
Independiente possible starting lineup:
Rey; Baez, Aguilar, Laso; Isla, Mancuello, Marcone, Perez; Canelo, Gimenez, Martinez
Barracas Central possible starting lineup:
Desabato; Peinipil, Diaz, Alvarez, Insua; Rosane, Arce; Mater, Tapia, Calderara; Dominguez
We say: Independiente 2-0 Barracas Central
Independiente have plenty of momentum on their side having enjoyed a seven-match unbeaten streak under Carlos Tevez, and although Barracas Central head into the trip on the back of a return to winning ways, they are yet to establish any real consistency this term, and we can only envisage a home victory on Thursday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
