Almada rested: River's line-up vs Independiente Santa Fe, Sudamericana | OneFootball

This Wednesday, starting at 9:30 p.m., River Plate will visit Independiente Santa Fe at Bogotá’s legendary El Campín stadium, in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana round of 16. After beating Argentinos Juniors 2-0 last Sunday at the Monumental — a win that allowed them to snap a painful streak of six straight defeats — Eduardo Coudet’s team arrives with renewed energy, although it is forced to make at least three changes to its starting lineup.

The match, which had been postponed due to the earthquake that struck much of Colombia on August 10, gave “Chacho” an unexpected extra window of time. This break allowed him to integrate one of the star signings: Thiago Almada. If the match had been played on its original date, the “Guayo” would not have been able to take part. Thanks to the rescheduling, the midfielder completed a full week of training and played 83 minutes against Argentinos Juniors. Nevertheless, to avoid risking any physical wear and tear from the weekend, the coach decided to rest him tonight, and Tomás Galván will take his place.

River Plate: A puzzle at the back

Coudet’s biggest headaches are in defense, where the “Millonario” is dealing with two major absences: Gonzalo Montiel (strain in his left adductor) and Marcos Acuña (recovering from a tear in his right hamstring). Although the medical staff is aiming to have both available for next Sunday’s clash against Vélez in the Torneo Clausura, today the coach will have to improvise. The natural options for those positions, Giovanni González and Francisco Ortega, are not registered on the official squad list for the continental competition.

Given this scenario, the coach is weighing two tactical alternatives. The one currently favored, based on what was tested in the last training session, involves moving Lucas Martínez Quarta to right back, placing Lautaro Rivero as the left center back alongside Nicolás Otamendi, and giving the left-back spot to youngster Facundo González. The other option is to hand young Ángel Susano his debut at right back, keep the Otamendi-Martínez Quarta pairing in central defense, and send Rivero out to the left flank.

River Plate’s probable lineup against Independiente Santa Fe in the Copa Sudamericana

Santiago Beltrán; Lucas Martínez Quarta, Nicolás Otamendi, Lautaro Rivero, Facundo González; Aníbal Moreno, Tobías Andrada; Tomás Galván; Ángel Correa; Joaquín Freitas and Rafael Santos Borré. Head coach: Eduardo Coudet.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.