Gimnasia v Estudiantes: Clásico clash for Clausura final spot | OneFootball

The Wolf and the Pincha face off in El Bosque to determine Racing's opponent in the title match that will be played on Saturday in Santiago del Estero.

Gimnasia y Esgrima and Estudiantes will play a new edition of the La Plata classic this Monday, December 8, starting at 17:00 at the Juan Carmelo Zerillo stadium, for the semifinals of the 2025 Clausura Tournament, in search of Racing's opponent, who last night eliminated Boca at La Bombonera.

The match will be refereed by Facundo Tello, with Lucas Novelli in the VAR, and will be broadcast on ESPN Premium and TNT Sports.

The match was supposed to be played over the weekend but was rescheduled due to a series of concerts that complicated security in the city of La Plata. With the operation adjusted, the most anticipated clash of La Plata football arrives at a decisive moment for both teams.

The Wolf is going through its best phase of the tournament. It comes from eliminating Barracas Central with a 2-0 victory as a visitor, with goals from Manuel Panaro and Franco Torres, and has five consecutive victories. The team led by Fernando Zaniratto dreams of celebrating a title again after more than three decades, since the 1993 Centenary Cup.

The Pincha, managed by Eduardo Domínguez, advanced to this stage after defeating Central Córdoba 1-0 in Santiago del Estero with a goal from Tiago Palacios. The entire knockout journey was made away from home due to finishing eighth in Group A with 21 points, the same as Banfield, but with a worse goal difference.

In the preview, Zaniratto has a single doubt between Alejandro Piedrahíta and Jeremías Merlo, with a slight advantage for the Colombian. In Estudiantes, Domínguez will not be able to count on Guido Carrillo, who did not accept the reduction of his suspension. The coach tested offensive variants, although the idea is to maintain Facundo Farías and repeat the base that surpassed the Ferroviario, with Santiago Ascacibar and Ezequiel Piovi as the midfield core.

The Buenos Aires Ministry of Security, through APreViDe, has arranged a mega-operation with about 650 police officers, 65 private security agents, 135 Utedyc employees, firefighters, and four high-complexity ambulances. The stadium doors will open at 13:00 and there will be no sale of general admission tickets. Roadblocks and controls will begin the night before to ensure an orderly classic.

Probable lineups

Gimnasia: Nelson Insfrán; Juan Pintado, Renzo Giampaoli, Enzo Martínez, Pedro Silva; Augusto Max, Nicolás Barros Schelotto; Manuel Panaro, Bautista Merlini, Alejandro Piedrahíta or Jeremías Merlo; Marcelo Torres. Coach: Fernando Zaniratto.

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