Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Argentine Primera Division clash between Tigre and Belgrano, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Seeking just their second victory in the 2024 Argentine Primera Division campaign, Tigre play host to Belgrano on Thursday at Estadio Jose Dellagiovanna.
A 3-1 defeat to River Plate has Azules del Norte five points below the relegation line, while the club from Cordoba held on for a 1-0 win over Argentinos Juniors.
Match preview
With every match in this competition, Tigre appear to be getting worse and worse, losing their previous two domestic contests by a combined score of 7-1.
Sebastian Dominguez has seen his side collect just one point in their previous 10 Primera Division affairs, a run that will hardly improve their chances of avoiding relegation.
Neither will scoring nine goals overall in the 2024 Primera Division campaign, the lowest among sides in the Argentine top flight.
Tigre have failed to score in three successive league contests at Estadio Jose Dellagiovanna and have not won a home game in this competition since matchday eight of the opening phase (1-0 over Central Cordoba).
One of the few teams El Matador have experienced success against would be Belgrano, who they have beaten in two of their three previous meetings in all competitions.
Since the beginning of May, Belgrano have been the model of consistency, losing just one of their last seven competitive fixtures (3-0 versus River Plate).
Unfortunately, there is still much ground to cover in their quest to qualify for the Copa Sudamericana for a second successive season.
Juan Cruz Real‘s men are on a three-match winning run in all competitions since losing to River Plate, though they have not won an away match in the top flight since matchday 13 (2-1 over Union).
In the opening phase of the domestic campaign, five of their six defeats were by a single goal, but their two victories in phase two were by that same margin.
While they have had difficulty with Tigre in the past, El Celeste won their previous away contest played in Victoria, 4-1, in the Copa de la Liga this year.
Tigre Argentine Primera Division form:
Belgrano Argentine Primera Division form:
Belgrano form (all competitions):
Team News
Tigre could be without Ijel Protti, who has a sore Achilles, Pablo Adorno is dealing with a groin strain and Gonzalo Flores has a broken collarbone.
Nahuel Genez is dealing with hamstring tightness, Brahian Aleman has a foot problem and Juan Cruz Esquivel continues to recover from a knee injury.
A penalty in first-half stoppage time converted by Gonzalo Maroni put them on level terms with the league leaders heading into the break before they conceded two goals in the second half.
Alex Ibacache is nearing a return to the Belgrano fold after missing time with an illness, Franco Jara sat out of their previous encounter due to a hamstring strain, while Facundo Quignon may be unavailable because of gastrointestinal problems.
Belgrano will be without Pablo Chavarria for this upcoming fixture after the 36-year-old received a pair of cautions in the opening half against Argentinos.
Despite that, El Celeste still managed to persevere, with Geronimo Heredia netting the winner in the second half, while Nahuel Losada made two stops to collect a clean sheet.
Tigre possible starting lineup:
Zenobio; Ortega, Fernandez, Lomonaco, Mino; Garay, Cardozo; Galvan, Maroni, Contin; Ferreyra
Belgrano possible starting lineup:
Losada; Rebola, Troilo, Meriano; Baringa, Longo, Heredia, Velazquez; Metilli, Reyna; Suarez
We say: Tigre 0-1 Belgrano
Tigre have continuously found ways to lose, and that can be psychologically damaging to a side in dire need of something good but without the resources to produce much.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.