Estudiantes will be looking to get back to winning ways in the Argentine Primera Division when they take on Racing Club at Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi on Saturday.
The hosts played out a stalemate against Rosario Central in midweek, which saw them pass up the opportunity to draw level on points with Lanus in fourth place, while the visitors also had to make do with a share of the spoils in their last match, drawing 1-1 against San Lorenzo.
Match preview
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While River Plate have opened up a commanding lead at the top of the Argentine Primera Division standings, behind them, the table is still very compact, and any of the sides in the top seven could still make a late surge into the top three places.
After ending last season in 18th place, Estudiantes have been much-improved in this campaign and will come into this match in fifth place, just four points behind San Lorenzo in second and with four matches left to go in the first phase of the league season.
However, after drawing against Rosario Central last week, Eduardo Dominguez's side have now failed to win any of their last four league matches, losing one and drawing three in succession leading up to this encounter.
The only win Los Pincharratas managed across their last six matches in all competitions came in the Copa Sudamericana, where they finished joint-top of their group, though that victory was against Oriente Petrolero, who were unable to register a single point in the competition and conceded 18 goals in their six matches.
A major positive for Dominguez, though, is that despite their relatively uninspiring record over the past few weeks, Estudiantes have been excellent on their home patch this season and head into this one on a 10-match unbeaten streak, which includes six wins and four draws, dating all the way back to mid-February.
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Racing Club, on the other hand, have gone the wrong way this season, falling from a second-placed finish last term to 12th coming into this match, recording just 31 points after 23 matches.
The visitors had a couple of difficult patches this season, starting at the very beginning when they were winless after the first three matches, but more notably in April and May, when they went a painful eight matches without a win, which included six losses and two draws.
Since June, though, Fernando Gago seems to have flicked a switch in his side, taking 12 points from the last 18 on offer, and they are now on a six-match unbeaten streak, with three wins and three draws.
La Academia are unbeaten in their last three matches on the road, but they have also conceded the most goals in away matches of any side in the top half of the table and will need to tighten up if they are to keep their impressive record of late intact.
Team News
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Pablo Piatti has been out since April with a ruptured cruciate ligament, and the 34-year-old midfielder will miss the rest of the campaign, while Leonardo Godoy is back in training after a muscle injury and could feature in this one.
With four matches still to go in the campaign, Jorge Rodriguez and Gaston Benedetti are both at risk of a one-match suspension, currently on four yellow cards each.
Meanwhile, Gago is walking something of a tightrope with as many as five of his players at risk of suspension on four yellow cards each, and a further five are unavailable for selection.
Emiliano Vecchio, Leonel Miranda, Johan Carbonero and Nicolas Reniero have all been ruled out for this match through injury, while Gabriel Hauche is suspended after seeing red against San Lorenzo in midweek.
Estudiantes possible starting lineup:
Andujar; Mancuso, Nunez, Romero, Benedetti; Zuqui, Rodriguez, Ascacibar; Carrillo, Boselli, Godoy
Racing Club possible starting lineup:
Arias; Aviles, Piovi, Quiros, Rojas; Nardoni, Moreno, Gomez, Oroz, Guerrero; Romero
We say: Estudiantes 2-1 Racing Club
Having scored in three of their last four matches, the absence of Hauche in Racing Club's lineup could be a telling factor here, especially when you consider the number of players that are unavailable for selection due to injuries in his absence .
The short turnaround time is another crucial element to factor in here, and with the hosts having a fitter squad coming into this match, we feel they have the upper hand and should just about edge it by a goal.
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