Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Argentine Primera Division clash between Racing Club and Godoy Cruz, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Gameweek six in Argentina’s Primera Division sees Racing Club host struggling Godoy Cruz at Estadio Presidente Peron on Saturday night.
The home side will be eager to bounce back quickly from their first defeat of the campaign, while the visitors are still searching for their first win.
Match preview
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Racing Club’s near-perfect start came to an end with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Lanus just before the league’s month-long break.
Gustavo Costas‘s side, who were top of the table before that match, dropped to fourth place after the loss with 10 points from five games, tied with Gimnasia and Instituto ACC, but are only ahead due to a superior goal difference.
While they boast the most goals scored in the league so far (12), testament to their attacking power, Racing seem to have specific games where their defensive frailties are exposed, costing them points twice already.
The six goals conceded by Racing have come across two matches where they have dropped points – the 4-4 draw with Belgrano on the opening day and the recent 2-0 loss to Lanus.
Between the opening day draw and their recent defeat, Racing won five matches across all competitions, all coming with clean sheets – Coquimbo Unido (3-0), Argentinos Juniors (3-0), Tigre (4-0), Sportivo Luqueno (3-0) and Deportivo Riestra (1-0) – which highlights a pattern of struggling once they concede.
The positive for Costas’s men is that they will be back on home soil, where four of these matches took place, and they currently boast a perfect record in the league at home, with two wins, four goals scored and none conceded.
Despite their recent poor record against Saturday’s opponents, with three defeats and a draw in their last four encounters, the hosts will be confident of breaking the streak considering their vastly superior form compared to the visiting team.
Godoy Cruz, who finished in ninth place last year, have endured a dreadful start to the season, failing to record a win and having three points deducted for fan misconduct.
Daniel Oldra‘s men have played four matches so far, losing to Barracas on the opening day, before drawing three consecutive matches with Independiente Rivadavia, Estudiantes and Rosario Central most recently.
However, the three-point penalty came after the referee had to call off their game against San Lorenzo on May 25 (1-1 at the time) following a fight among Godoy Cruz’s fans in the stands.
The AFA Disciplinary Court decided that the remaining 42 minutes will be played on a date to be determined behind closed doors, and Tomba will have to play two games behind closed doors, along with paying San Lorenzo’s travel expenses and a fine.
Oldra will hope his side can put the negative issues behind them and finally find a way to win games, but to achieve this they must first sort out their goalscoring problems, as they have scored the joint-fewest goals (2) alongside San Lorenzo in the current campaign.
Racing Club Argentine Primera Division form:
Racing Club form (all competitions):
Godoy Cruz Argentine Primera Division form:
Team News
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Racing are without the injured Fernando Prado (knee), German Conti and Bruno Zuculini (both muscle), while Juan Nardoni is doubtful.
Marco Di Cesare has joined Argentina’s Olympics team, which means he is set to miss a considerable number of games depending how far the team goes in the competition.
Santiago Solari is suspended for this clash after getting sent off for two bookable offences within the space of six minutes despite only coming on as a second-half substitute.
Godoy will remain without defender Braian Salvareschi, who has a broken foot that has kept him out since April.
Tomas Pazzo and Nahuel Ulariaga are also sidelined with cruciate ligament tears and are not expected back anytime soon.
Racing Club possible starting lineup:
Cambeses; Colombo, Sosa, Garcia; Zuculini; Rodriguez, Almendra, Rojas, Torres; Salas, Martinez
Godoy Cruz possible starting lineup:
Petroli; Arce, Barrios, Rasmussen, Pereyra; Fernandez, Sosa, Poggi; Barrea, S. Ulariaga, Cejas
We say: Racing Club 2-0 Godoy Cruz
Racing have been without blemish on home soil, which makes them the favourites heading into this clash against Godoy Cruz who have struggled to get going in the current campaign and can hardly put the ball in the back of the net.
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