With a few surprises, Úbeda names squad for Boca v Universidad Católica | OneFootball

Boca will face Universidad Católica this Thursday at La Bombonera with the obligation to win in order to advance to the round of 16 and stay alive in the Copa Libertadores. For this key match, Claudio Úbeda will present a squad list with some new faces due to absences in the team and several answers to rumors from the week.

One of the main doubts ahead of the clash with the Chilean side is the presence of Miguel Merentiel, a key piece in Úbeda’s first-choice attack. The coach decided to wait until the last moment for the Uruguayan and gave a strong hint by calling him up, although he still does not know whether the starter will be him or Exequiel Zeballos, who could be making his farewell appearance.

The coaching staff had also planned to test Edinson Cavani and Carlos Palacios, who have been injured for months, with the intention of having them available on the bench, but in the end the former PSG and Manchester United player could not finish yesterday’s training session, and the Chilean failed to fully convince despite having recovered from the synovitis in his right knee. The attacking midfielder will finish the first half of the year without having played any minutes.

On the other hand, the inclusion of Agustín Martegani came as a surprise. He had not been in the coach’s plans and had not been called up since February, when he watched the scoreless draw against Racing from the bench. The last time Martegani stepped onto the field was in February of last year, 15 months ago, which makes it virtually impossible for him to get minutes against UC.

In addition, the head coach gave Matías Satas, a left-footed center back from the reserve team, the opportunity to join the senior squad for the first time in his career. The defender is a starter for Argentina’s Under-17 national team and played in the most recent World Cup for that age group.

His call-up is directly linked to Ayrton Costa’s suspension, as he will be unavailable due to yellow-card accumulation. The starter in that position would be Marco Pellegrino, with Satas as his backup. Santiago Ascacíbar and Adam Bareiro are the other absences from the starting team.

Boca’s probable lineup vs. Universidad Católica in the Copa Libertadores

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