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

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

Gimnasia y Esgrima and Estudiantes will play a new edition of the Clásico Platense this Monday, December 8, starting at 5:00 PM at the Juan Carmelo Zerillo stadium, for the semifinals of the 2025 Torneo Clausura, seeking to become Racing’s rival, 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 security operation adjusted, the most anticipated clash in Platense football arrives at a decisive moment for both teams.

The Wolf is going through its best stretch of the tournament. They come from eliminating Barracas Central with a 2-0 away win, with goals from Manuel Panaro and Franco Torres, and have five consecutive victories. The team led by Fernando Zaniratto dreams of celebrating a title again after more than three decades, since the 1993 Copa Centenario.

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

In the build-up, Zaniratto has only one doubt between Alejandro Piedrahíta and Jeremías Merlo, with a slight advantage for the Colombian. For Estudiantes, Domínguez will not be able to count on Guido Carrillo, who did not accept the reduction of his suspension. The coach tested different options in attack, although the idea is to keep Facundo Farías and repeat the core that beat Ferroviario, with Santiago Ascacibar and Ezequiel Piovi as the midfield axis.

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 1:00 PM and there will be no general admission sales. Roadblocks and controls will begin the night before to ensure an orderly clásico.

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.