Matchday 22 of the 2023 Argentine Primera Division season sees Defensa y Justicia face off against Tigre at Estadio Norberto Tito Tomaghello on Sunday.
The teams head into this one off the back of contrasting results in their last outings, but a keenly-contested affair is expected nonetheless.
Match preview
Defensa y Justicia snapped a two-game losing run by comprehensively beating Millonarios 3-1 in the sides' Copa Sudamericana meeting on Friday.
Nicolas Fernandez scored twice in the opening 13 minutes to put Julio Vaccari's men in the driving seat after which Daniel Catano pulled one back, only for Fernandez to complete his hat-trick on the hour mark and put the result beyond doubt.
Prior to that, the Hawks suffered a 3-1 defeat against Argentinos Juniors, which saw them drop to eighth in the Argentine Primera Division table.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing outfit with little to choose between the sides as the last 11 encounters have yielded four wins apiece and three stalemates.
Having picked up six victories and two draws across their last eight home outings across all competitions, Sunday's hosts will back themselves to come away with all three points here.
Tigre fell to a 2-0 defeat against Sao Paolo when the teams went head-to-head at Estadio do Morumbi in Wednesday's Copa Sudamericana encounter.
Following a goalless first half, Juan Sara's men fell behind to Juan's opener before Wellington Rato put the game to bed in second-half stoppage time.
This came off the back of a 2-1 victory over Velez Sarsfield for El Matador who have now moved up to 17th in the standings, seven points clear of the bottom three.
Currently on a run of four straight losses on the road, Sunday's visitors will be keen to turn their fortunes around in what is set to be another assignment away from home.
Team News
Tigre's Brian Lezza had a game to forget in midweek where he was sent off in his first start since early May, and the defender is expected to be dropped to the bench for this one.
This should see Victor Cabrera make an immediate return to the starting lineup after having to make do with a substitute appearance last time out.
Sebastian Prieto and Ijiel Protti remain unavailable for the away side through injury, but the former is not far off making a return to action.
Nicolas Fernandez has found the back of the net five times in his last five matches for Defensa, making the 27-year-old one to keep an eye on.
Defensa y Justicia possible starting lineup:
Unsain; Soto, Cardona, Colombo, Sant'Anna; Bogarin, Gutierrez, Tripichio; Togni, Fernandez, Alanis
Tigre possible starting lineup:
Marinelli; Blondel, Cabrera, Luciatti, Montoya; Menossi, Prediger; Colidio, Molinas, Nunez; Retegui
We say: Defensa y Justicia 2-1 Tigre
Defensa's impressive home record of late makes them big favourites to come out on top here and while we expect anything but a straightforward affair, we are backing the hosts to get the job done come the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
