Five teams fighting for the last two spots in Apertura Zone B | OneFootball

The 2026 Professional League Apertura Tournament is approaching its decisive stage, and this weekend the 16 participants for the round of 16 will be confirmed, with two spots still up for grabs in Zone B. Those places will be decided between Racing, Huracán, Barracas Central, Tigre, and Sarmiento. Find out what each team needs to claim one of those remaining tickets.

On Saturday, El Guapo kicked off the final round by hosting Banfield at the Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia stadium. Rubén Darío Insua’s team currently sits in eighth place (21 points and a goal difference of 0) after falling 2-1 to El Taladro, complicating its chances of qualification, which would have been secured with a win.

After the loss, Barracas Central must now wait for La Academia (20) to lose to Huracán (21) at El Cilindro and for neither Tigre (19) nor Sarmiento (19) to win their respective matches.

On Sunday starting at 4:00 p.m., four matches will be played simultaneously involving the other four contenders (as well as Gimnasia (LP) vs. Argentinos Juniors, who have already qualified but have not yet secured their final position in the group), which will settle the question of the last two spots in the round of 16.

All eyes will be on the match between Racing (9th, 20 points and +2) and Huracán (7th, 21 points and +4). El Globo controls its own destiny, since a win guarantees its place in the final stage of the tournament. If they draw, Diego Martínez’s side will qualify as long as Tigre does not win and Sarmiento does not win by seven goals. If they lose, they will need neither El Matador nor El Verde to come out on top in order to advance.

La Academia heads into the decisive final matchday knowing that if it beats Huracán, it will be part of the final stage regardless of what happens on the other fields, while a loss will leave it out of the next round. If it draws with El Globo, it will only reach the round of 16 if neither Tigre nor Sarmiento wins its respective match.

Tigre (10th and +3) will have to visit Rosario Central at the Gigante de Arroyito knowing that it does not depend on itself to reach the round of 16. After El Guapo’s loss, Dabove’s team simply needs to beat El Canalla, regardless of what happens between Racing and Huracán, since whatever the result, it does not affect its equation.

Lastly comes Sarmiento (11th and -3), which absolutely must beat Belgrano in Córdoba. Then, Tigre must lose or draw against Rosario Central at the Gigante de Arroyito (if Diego Dabove’s team wins, Sarmiento would have to win by a seven-goal margin). Similar to Tigre, any result between Racing and Huracán does not affect its pursuit of a place in the round of 16.

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