Thursday, July 3

[monks data]

Sports Mole previews Thursday's Copa Diego Maradona clash between Instituto and Huracan, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

In what will be just their second-ever meeting in the Copa Argentina, Instituto and Huracan are set to go head-to-head at Estadio Marcelo Bielsa on Thursday evening, with a place in the round of 16 up for grabs.

Their only previous clash in the competition came back in August 2023, when Globo secured a 2-0 win at this very stage to progress at Instituto’s expense.

---

Match preview

With ample time to reset, Instituto return to action after more than a month and a half away from the pitch, determined to turn the tables on Huracan this time around.

La Gloria were last in action on May 11, when they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Zone A leaders Argentinos Juniors in the round of 16 of the Apertura tournament, a result that handed manager Daniel Oldra his first loss at the helm.

Appointed on April 22, the 58-year-old tactician had overseen a draw and a win in his first two matches, guiding the Cordoba outfit to an eighth-place finish in the league phase, but now shoulders the responsibility of steering the club beyond the round of 32 in the Copa Argentina for just the second time in their history.

Since achieving that feat in the 2013-14 campaign, Instituto have failed to clear this hurdle, although they can draw some encouragement from having already gone one better than last season, when they bowed out in the previous phase.

Oldra’s men made it to this stage with a commanding 3-0 victory over second-tier side Deportivo Madryn on April 3, marking only the third time they have reached the round of 32 in the tournament.

With a deeper footprint in the Copa Argentina, Huracan, also enjoyed their finest moment in the 2013-14 season, when they were crowned champions for the one and only time in the competition’s history.

Though Globo have struggled to hit those heights since, they came agonisingly close last season, only to fall at the penultimate hurdle with a 2-1 semi-final loss to Central Cordoba.

Still nursing the pain of that near miss, Frank Kudelka’s side approach this tie still smarting from their 1-0 loss to Platense in the Apertura tournament final on June 1.

That defeat snapped a run of four consecutive clean sheets and marked their first setback in seven matches across all competitions, a streak that included a 1-0 triumph over Brazilian giants Corinthians in their final group game of the Copa Sudamericana.

Having secured direct passage into the round of 16 in that continental campaign, Huracan will be eager to replicate that success in the domestic cup when they lock horns with Instituto this midweek, with a showdown against Lanus awaiting the winner.

Kudelka’s men beat San Martin Formosa 2-1 on March 13, marking a third consecutive campaign in which they have reached this stage of the competition.

 

Instituto Copa Argentina form:

Instituto form (all competitions):

Huracan Copa Argentina form:

Huracan form (all competitions):

---

Team News

Thirty-one-year-old centre-forward Facundo Suarez remains sidelined with a cruciate ligament tear and will play no part for Instituto this midweek.

Striker Nicolas Cordero is also a major doubt after spending over a month out with an ankle sprain, while midfielder Matias Gallardo could miss out again due to a toe injury.

Huracan will similarly be without twenty-two-year-old full-back Daniel Zabala, who is yet to recover from a cruciate ligament injury sustained in early May during his loan spell.

Aside from this casualty, head coach Kudelka has a full squad at his disposal and could stick with a similar setup to the one fielded against Platense in the Apertura final.

However, Sebastian Meza could return in goal, having started in the win over San Martin in the previous round.

 

Instituto possible starting lineup:

Roffo; Pereyra, Salazar, Requena, Franco; Luna, Lodico, Moreyra, Mac Allister, Lazaro; Klimowicz

Huracan possible starting lineup:

Meza; Guidara, Pereyra, Pellegrino, Ibanez; Perez, Gil; Mazzanti, Miljevic, Urzi; Ramirez 

---

We say: Instituto 0-1 Huracan

 

This fixture has often been short on goals, with both sides failing to score in 12 of their last 17 meetings, and another cagey affair could be on the cards here.

Huracan have been defensively solid of late, keeping clean sheets in four of their previous five matches, and given that they edged the most recent encounter against Instituto by a lone goal, Globo head into this one as slight favourites.

 

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

---

---

 

---

ID:576582:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect8057:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

---

Collect / Create New Data