Boca Juniors without Romero or Cavani: who leads the line v Gimnasia? | OneFootball

Due to the last-minute withdrawal of the Matador, the coaching staff will make changes to the team they had in mind to play this Saturday against Gimnasia de Mendoza. A practically new lineup is expected compared to the Copa Argentina, but with Bareiro.

After the debut in the Copa Argentina, which left some positive conclusions for the coaching staff - mainly due to Adam Bareiro's goal-scoring debut - Boca changes its focus and is now aiming all efforts at Saturday's match against Gimnasia de Mendoza. After three matches without victories, the Xeneize urgently needs the three points at La Bombonera to get back into the qualifying positions, and for that reason, Claudio Úbeda plans to restore prominence to the regular starters.

Sifón's plans were altered at the end of the week by a new physical setback: Edinson Cavani, who was expected to start alongside the Paraguayan after his double, suffered a relapse of his back pain and won't even be part of the squad. In this regard, the starting eleven will only be confirmed in the evening practice, although it is expected that Miguel Merentiel will take that spot.

Beyond the unexpected issue with the Matador, Boca's lineup will undergo a significant change compared to the 2-0 in the Copa Argentina, a match where Úbeda gave minutes to less experienced players and got several interesting responses. The main news, if he responds well to the demands of the last practice, will be the return of the captain: Leandro Paredes.

The world champion has overcome the ankle sprain that sidelined him from the last three matches and would be ready to start, forming the midfield alongside Santiago Ascacibar and a third component to be decided, which could be Williams Alarcón. In defense, due to Juan Barinaga's injury, the usual line is expected with Marcelo Weigandt, Lautaro Di Lollo, Ayrton Costa, and Lautaro Blanco, with Agustín Marchesín also returning between the posts.

And in attack? Lucas Janson's starting position appears as another direct consequence of what happened in Salta. The former Vélez player had one of his best games since arriving at La Ribera and even provided the assist for the first goal. Although he hadn't been getting minutes recently and youngsters like Iker Zufiaurre and Gonzalo Gelini had opportunities, Úbeda would lean on his experience to accompany Bareiro and Merentiel in the offensive front.

Finally, like Cavani, Ángel Romero will also not be part of the squad for this Saturday: the Paraguayan is dealing with an adductor issue that forced him to undergo medical tests during the week.

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