Sports Mole previews Wednesday’s Argentine Primera Division clash between Union and Rosario Central, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Fresh off the back of suffering their first defeat of the season, Union will be looking to bounce back when they play host to Rosario Central in the Primera Division on Wednesday.
Miguel Angel Russo‘s men have failed to get the better of the home sides in any of their previous seven encounters and will journey to the Estadio 15 de Abril looking to end this poor run.
Match preview
© Imago
Union were let down by a lack of cutting edge at the attacking end of the pitch on Sunday as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Racing Club at the Estadio Presidente Peron.
Gonzalo Javier Morales finished off a well-worked team goal in the 72nd minute to draw the visitors level after Santiago Sosa opened the scoring with a 10th-minute header but Agustin Almendra netted seconds later to hand Racing all three points.
Union had gone unbeaten in six back-to-back games to start the new Primera Division campaign, claiming four wins and two draws while scoring seven goals and keeping four clean sheets.
Kily Gonzalez and his troupe will now go back to the drawing board as they look to quickly bounce back and avoid losing consecutive games for the first time since May 2023, when they were beaten by Almagro and Sarmiento respectively.
Union’s home form this season will give they all the confidence they need going into Wednesday as they have won each of their three games at the Estadio 15 de Abril, scoring five goals and conceding just once so far.
Like their hosts, Rosario Central were sent back down to earth as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Huracan when the sides squared off at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito last Saturday.
Argentine striker Walter Mazzantti came up trumps for Huracan as he netted the only goal of the game right on the half-hour mark to hand them all three points and maintain their two-point lead at the top of the table.
Prior to the weekend defeat, the Canalla were on a four-game unbeaten run across all competitions — picking up three wins and one draw — a run which has seen them reach the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana courtesy of a 2-1 aggregate victory over Brazilian outfit Internacional.
Next up for Rosario is the stern challenge of taking on a well-drilled Union side who are unbeaten in each of their last seven meetings, claiming three wins and four draws since a 1-0 loss in February 2018.
While Russo’s men will be looking to end this poor run, they have struggled for results on the road, where they have failed to win 10 of their last 12 matches across all competitions, losing seven and claiming three draws since the start of March.
Union Argentine Primera Division form:
Rosario Central Argentine Primera Division form:
Rosario Central form (all competitions):
Team News
© Imago
Union will have to cope without veteran defender Claudio Corvalan, who is currently suspended after picking up a red card in the second half against Racing last time out.
In his absence, 21-year-old Nicolas Paz should come into the starting XI, teaming up with Franco Pardo and former Argentinos Juniors defender Miguel Torren in the back three.
On the other hand, Rosario Central will have to cope without the services of Argentine midfielder Tomas O’Connor, who has missed each of the last seven matches due to a hernia.
On the injury front, Abel Hernandez has been sidelined since picking up a thigh problem in March and the 33-year-old forward will also play no part in Wednesday’s game.
Russo will also be unable to name 23-year-old defender Agustin Bravo, who had been out of action since coming off with a severe injury in the 2-1 loss against River Plate in April.
Union possible starting lineup:
Cardozo; Torren, Pardo, Paz; Vargas, Rivero, Pitton, Mosqueira, Pitton; Orsini, Balboa
Rosario Central possible starting lineup:
Broun; Martinez, Gimenez, Barbieri, Rodriguez; Martinez, Ortiz; Lovera, Malcorra, Lo Celso; Modica
We say: Union 2-0 Rosario Central
Having both suffered defeat at the weekend, Union and Rosario Central will head into Wednesday’s game looking to quickly bounce back. Gonzalez’s men boast a 100% home record in the league this season and we are tipping them to see off the visitors.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.