Two sides who have experienced differing starts to the Argentine Primera Division season will square off on Sunday, as Lanus play host to Huracan.
The home team currently sit 25th with just five points from their opening six games, while their visitors will be pushing to break into the top four, having stretched an unbeaten run with back-to-back victories.
Match preview
Lanus had to battle through a relatively slow start to the Argentine Primera Division season, as they began with consecutive draws against Rosario Central and Defensa y Justicia, before falling to a 2-1 defeat away at Atletico Tucuman.
Jorge Almiron's side then managed to add a first notch to their wins column at the fourth attempt, beating Colon 1-0 on home turf thanks to Lautaro Acosta's 85th-minute goal.
They have been unable to further add to their points tally in two league outings since, though, firstly falling to a narrow 2-1 defeat away at River Plate before losing by the same scoreline to Independiente del Valle in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana round-of-16 tie.
That was followed by a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Union in their most recent top-flight contest, as Daniel Juarez, Imanol Machuca and Facundo Aguero all helped themselves to goals, before the Granate failed to overturn the deficit against Independiente del Valle last time out, seeing their exit confirmed following a goalless stalemate on home turf.
Now finding themselves 25th in the 28-team league as a result of their tough start, Lanus will be desperate to stop their rot and return to winning ways on Sunday to move away from the bottom end of the division.
Almiron's men face another tough test, though, as the visitors arrive looking to extend an impressive run of domestic form.
Huracan's top-flight campaign began with a defeat at the hands of Racing Club, but it did not take long to put their first points on the board as a Franco Cristaldo finish and an own goal from Lautaro Blanco saw them beat Rosario Central 2-0 in the following outing.
That triumph proved to be the start of an unbeaten streak for the Globo, who then played out consecutive draws with Defensa y Justicia and Atletico Tucuman.
The Buenos Aires outfit then returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Colon, thanks to Benjamin Garre's early goal, before hosting River Plate last time out in their bid to continue a strong run.
They were able to do so, coming out of that contest with a 3-2 victory as a Jonathan Galvan goal and a Cristaldo brace gave them a comfortable lead before Julian Alvarez pulled one back late on for the Argentinian giants.
Now sitting fifth, with just a three-point gap to the summit of the top flight, Huracan will aim to post a third consecutive league win and a fourth of the season on Monday to further strengthen their position in the leading pack.
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Team News
Lanus will be without midfielder Maxi Gonzalez, who is suspended for Sunday's game after he was sent off in their last league game against Union.
Since the announcement of top scorer Jose Manuel Lopez's departure for Palmeiras, Lucas Varaldo and veteran Jose Sand have battled to lead the line in their 4-3-3 setup.
Meanwhile, captain Lautaro Acosta should keep his place in the front line, having netted two goals in the early stages of the season.
Franco Cristaldo will continue to be a key man going forward for Huracan, having hit seven goals so far this season including four in six league appearances.
He will again support Matias Coccaro, who also has seven goals to his name across all competitions.
Santiago Hezze and Federico Fattori have played in almost every minute of top-flight action so far this term, and they will continue to partner up at the base of midfield.
Lanus possible starting lineup:
Monetti; Aguirre, Perez, Braghieri, Pasquini; Belmonte, Loaiza, Rodriguez; Acosta, Sand, Varaldo
Huracan possible starting lineup:
Chavez; Soto, Galvan, Merolla, Perez; Hezze, Fattori; Garre, Cristaldo, Gauto; Coccaro
We say: Lanus 0-2 Huracan
Considering the teams' contrasting form recently, we do not see Lanus springing any surprises on Sunday and back the visitors to continue their impressive run with another three-point haul given the strength of their squad.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
