Lanus set out in search of a third consecutive home win in the league when they play host to Belgrano in round seven of the Argentine Primera Division on Thursday.
El Pirata journey to the El Estadio Ciudad de Lanus where they are on an eight-game winless run since June 2013, including four defeats in their last four visits, and will be looking to end this poor run.
Match preview
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Lanus were denied back-to-back Primera Division victories for the first time this season last weekend as they played out a 2-2 draw with River Plate after giving up their lead twice at the Estadio Mas Monumental.
Following a relatively uneventful first half, the game sparked into life after the break as goals from Marcelino Moreno and Jonathan Torres put the visitors ahead but a brace from Miguel Borja saw River Plate fight back from behind twice to salvage a point.
Lanus have now gone unbeaten in six of their last seven matches across all competitions — claiming three wins and three draws — with a 1-0 defeat against Cuiaba in their final Copa Sudamericana group-stage game on May 29 being the exception.
Despite their loss to Cuiaba, Ricardo Zielinski's men booked their spot in the Copa Sudamericana knockout stage as Group G winners, picking up four wins and one draw in their six games to claim 13 points, one point above the Brazilian outfit.
Off the back of a fourth-placed finish in the 2023-24 Primera Division campaign, Lanus have managed two wins in their six league games to start the season while losing once and claiming three draws to sit 12th in the table, two points and five places adrift of Thursday's visitors.
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Elsewhere, Belgrano continued their impressive early-season form as they secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Deportivo Riestra when the sides squared off at the Estadio Julio Cesar Villagra last Friday.
Jonathan Herrera restored parity for Riestra after Nicolas Fernandez broke the deadlock in the 66th minute, but Franco Jara continued his red-hot form in front of goal as he struck in the 72nd minute to hand the hosts all three points.
Since losing 3-0 to River Plate on May 18, Juan Cruz Real's men have gone five straight matches without defeat across all competitions, picking one draw and four wins, including a 2-1 victory over Internacional in the Copa Sudamericana on May 29.
Like Thursday's hosts, El Pirata enjoyed a solid Copa Sudamericana group-stage campaign as they finished unbeaten in Group C, claiming three wins and three draws in their six matches to clinch top spot, one point above runners-up Internacional.
While Belgrano will be looking to continue from where they left off last weekend, they will need to be at their best at the El Estadio Ciudad de Lanus as they have failed to win 16 of their last 18 games against Lanus, losing eight and claiming eight draws since September 2021.
Team News
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Nineteen-year-old defender Julio Soler is currently on duty with the Argentina Men's Olympic squad at the ongoing Olympics and will play no part in Thursday's game.
On the injury front, Lanus will have to cope without the attacking duo of Walter Bou and 34-year-old Eduardo Salvio, who are currently recuperating from hamstring and foot injuries respectively.
Bruno Cabrera has missed each of the last two games since coming off injured against Rosario Central on June 2 and the 21-year-old is also out of contention for Zielinski's men.
Meanwhile, Belgrano will take to the pitch without the services of 30-year-old forward Lucas Passerini, who has been sidelined since April through a cruciate ligament injury.
Chilean defender Alex Ibacache also continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a severe injury in March and the 25-year-old is also ruled out of Thursday's game.
With his strike against Riestra, Jara now has eight goals in his last eight matches, with four of those strikes coming in two league appearances, and we expect the 36-year-old to lead the Belgrano attack once again.
Lanus possible starting lineup:
A Aguerre; B Aguirre, Izquierdoz, Luciatti, Morgantini; Carrera, Dominguez, Loaiza, Moreno; Diaz, Sanabria
Belgrano possible starting lineup:
Chicco; Troilo, Rebola, Baldi, Barinaga; Rolon, Metilli, Longo, Velazquez; Jara, Reyna
We say: Lanus 2-2 Belgrano
Belgrano have put together a solid run of results in recent weekend and will be looking to end their poor run of results at the El Estadio Ciudad de Lanus. However, Zielinski's men have lost just one of their last seven matches and predict that they will do just enough to force a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
