Instituto aim to kick off with a celebration in front of their fans | OneFootball

La Gloria and El Fortín make their debut this Thursday at 22:15 at the Monumental Presidente Perón, in a key clash to start off on the right foot.

Instituto and Vélez will face each other this Thursday at 22:15, at the Estadio Monumental Presidente Perón, for the first matchday of the 2026 Torneo Apertura of the Liga Profesional. Neither team will have international competition this season, so they are focusing all their efforts on the local championship and the Copa Argentina, with the hope of fighting at the top.

The team from Córdoba arrives with the relief of having stayed in the division after struggling until the end of 2025, and with a clear objective: to be a protagonist. To achieve this, the management decided to significantly strengthen the squad, including a major move: the signing of Franco Jara, top scorer and key player for Belgrano, who crossed over from their rivals. In addition, Instituto added eight more players, seeking greater quality and depth in all areas.

On the other side will be Vélez, coming off a decent season, though with some silverware: the Supercopa Argentina and the Supercopa Internacional. However, El Fortín was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores and in the round of 16 of the Clausura, results that left a bittersweet taste. During preseason, the team led by Guillermo Barros Schelotto played two friendlies against Midland, with a 1-0 win and a 1-1 draw.

Besides the debut, in Liniers they are still keeping an eye on the future of Maher Carrizo, a winger who was close to joining River and who has a firm stance: his priority is to leave Vélez to continue his career in Europe. Meanwhile, Instituto and El Fortín will kick off in Córdoba, needing to start strong in a tournament that promises to be demanding from the very beginning.

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