Tate to Mendoza for the win and last-16 spot: time, Radio Gol, XIs | OneFootball

Independiente Rivadavia and Unión will face off this Saturday, May 9, starting at 9:30 p.m., at the Bautista Gargantini Stadium, in the Round of 16 of the 2026 Apertura Tournament of the Professional League.

The match will be refereed by Luis Lobo Medina, with Héctor Paletta assisting on VAR.

Unión managed to qualify for the playoffs by the skin of their teeth. Leonardo Madelón’s team closed out the regular season with four matches without a win: they lost 2-1 to Estudiantes and 3-2 to Newell’s, in addition to drawing 2-2 with Vélez and 1-1 against Talleres. Looking a little further at the stats, El Tate won only one of their last eight matches (at home against Deportivo Riestra), or it could be counted as two wins if we include their advancement to the next round of the Copa Argentina (in Rosario against Agropecuario). Their qualification for this stage came with plenty of suspense, as they were unable to secure their ticket with a win in the final regular-season match against Talleres and had to wait until the very end for Defensa y Justicia not to beat Gimnasia de Mendoza and for Instituto not to defeat Estudiantes de Rio Cuarto by 7 goals in order to stay alive in the competition.

Madelón worked almost all week with his starting strike pair of Tarragona and Estigarribia training separately from the group, as they were dealing with discomfort in one of their adductors and calves. They were rested, responded well, and unless something happens at the last minute, he will repeat the team that drew with Talleres.

POSSIBLE LINEUP: Matías Mansilla; Lautaro Vargas, Maizon Rodríguez, Juan Pablo Ludueña, Mateo Del Blanco; Julián Palacios, Rafael Profini, Mauro Pittón, Brahian Cuello; Cristian Tarragona and Marcelo Estigarribia.COACH: Leonardo Madelón

The team managed by Alfredo Berti finished first in Zone B with 34 points and secured top spot with one match to spare, meaning they will be able to play at home through a potential semifinal. They will only leave Mendoza if they reach the final, which will be played at Córdoba’s Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium. In addition, Independiente Rivadavia is also enjoying a historic Copa Libertadores campaign. Last Wednesday they drew 1-1 with Fluminense on Matchday 4 of Group C and reached 10 points, a result that made them the first team to qualify for the Round of 16 of the continental competition, with two matches to spare and a strong chance of finishing top of their group. La Lepra has now gone 11 matches unbeaten, with 8 wins and 3 draws.

POSSIBLE LINEUP: Nicolás Bolcato; Ezequiel Bonifacio, Leonard Costa, Sheyko Studer, Luciano Gómez; José Florentín, Tomás Bottari, Matías Fernández; Sebastián Villa, Alex Arce and Fabrizio Sartori. COACH: Alfredo Berti

Whoever qualifies for the quarterfinals will have to face the winner of the Córdoba derby in the next round. Independiente Rivadavia knows it would play all hypothetical ties at home because of its position in the standings, while Unión is in the exact opposite situation (it will visit Talleres or Belgrano if it wins tonight). The next round will take place midweek, and it is worth noting that Berti’s side will have to travel to Venezuela and Bolivia in the coming weeks to wrap up their Libertadores group stage against La Guaira and Bolívar.

It is also worth mentioning that the semifinals will be played next weekend, while the final is scheduled for Sunday, May 24 (3:30 p.m.) at Córdoba’s Mario Alberto Kempes stadium. If the score is level after 90 minutes, there will be two 15-minute extra-time periods and, if the tie remains even, the winner will be decided by a penalty shootout.

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