Central Cordoba, rock bottom of the table, will be hoping to grab their first points in the second phase of the 2024 Argentine Primera Division when they travel to face Tigre at Estadio Jose Dellagiovanna on Friday.
El Ferroviario have lost all six matches in the second phase, while El Matador secured their first win last time out.
Match preview
Tigre finally ended a run of 12 matches without a win across all competitions with a surprising 2-0 away victory at Argentinos Juniors last Thursday.
Prior to this win, the last time El Matador emerged victorious in a match was on March 1 against Central Cordoba during the first phase.
Thursday's victory was also the first under Sebastian Dominguez, who was appointed manager on April 5, following the dismissal of Nestor Gorosito.
The Buenos Aires team have climbed two places from their previous position in the table, to 23rd with five points from six matches played, but they still occupy the relegation spot at the bottom of the aggregate table.
El Matador's next objective will be to secure back-to-back victories for the first time since November 2023, and also for the first time against Friday's opponents and under Dominguez.
Central Cordoba are in a dire situation and are struggling to turn things around, as their winless run in the Argentine Primera Division has now extended to 11 matches, stretching from the first phase into the second.
Out of the 11 matches, three have ended in draws, while eight have been defeats, including all six since the start of the second phase.
Along with Godoy Cruz, they are the only other team in the second phase without a single point after six matchdays, although Godoy Cruz have played one fewer game and received a three-point deduction for fan violence.
Ironically, El Ferroviario have progressed to the Copa Argentina round of 16 amidst this poor league run, defeating Quilmes in the first round and Estudiantes in the previous round.
The victory over Estudiantes in the cup competition is the only one under Lucas Gonzalez, who was appointed as the new manager on April 19, replacing caretaker manager Juan Carlos Roldan.
With the worst defence in the second phase, having conceded 17 goals (the most so far), this clearly exposes Cordoba's biggest problem, an issue Gonzalez must address quickly as El Ferroviario are just one point above their next opponent who occupy the relegation spot in the aggregate table.
Team News
Tigre will remain without a number of players due to injury, with the list headlined by Ijiel Protti (Achilles), who has been out since November 2023.
Sebastian Medina, Tomas Fernandez and Juan Cruz Esquivel are all sidelined with knee issues, while Angelo Marchese (hamstring), Lorenzo Scipioni (shoulder) and Pablo Minissale (muscle) are all expected to be absent.
Gonzalo Maroni has scored two of Tigre's five goals in the second phase, and he is expected to start alongside Camilo Viganoni in attack on Friday.
Cordoba will remain without Brian Farioli and Lautaro Montoya, who have both been out for a long time with cruciate ligament tears.
Thiago Nuss has a meniscus injury, while the duo of Jose Gomez and Sebastian Valdez have knee issues and will be unavailable for selection.
Tigre possible starting lineup:
Zenobio; Ortega, Leizza, Paz, Banegas; Galvan, Garay, Cardozo, Armoa; Maroni, Viganoni
Central Cordoba possible starting lineup:
Ingolotti; Pillud, Abascia, Rak, Cruz; Atencio, Vazquez, Cabrera; Segovia, Godoy, Benitez
We say: Tigre 1-0 Central Cordoba
Cordoba had over a month's break to sort out their leaky defence but it remained the same on the last matchday - which is why we believe that the hosts will edge this one after a confidence-inducing win on the road last time out.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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