Argentinos and Lanús aim to make a statement in the Apertura play-offs | OneFootball

El Bicho wants to make the most of its home advantage to stay in the title race, while El Granate is looking to pull off an upset after an inconsistent regular phase. The winner will face Boca or Huracán.

Argentinos Juniors and Lanús will face off this Saturday starting at 9:30 p.m. at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, in the round of 16 of the Apertura Tournament.

The La Paternal side was one of the most consistent teams throughout the first phase of the championship. Argentinos Juniors won eight matches, drew five, and lost just three, although one of those defeats came last weekend against Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, when it had already secured its place in the playoffs.

With 29 points, El Bicho finished third in Zone B and will have the advantage of playing this round at home. In addition, the domestic tournament appears to be the team’s main objective this semester, after being eliminated in the round of 32 of the Copa Argentina by Midland and making an early exit from the Copa Libertadores after losing in Phase 2 to Barcelona Sporting Club.

As for Lanús, Mauricio Pellegrino’s team reached the round of 16 by finishing sixth in Zone A with 24 points. However, El Granate dropped important points in the closing rounds and picked up only two of the last nine available, which kept it from finishing higher in the standings.

Even so, the southern side comes in backed by a historic semester. In February, it won the Recopa Sudamericana after defeating Flamengo at the Maracanã Stadium. In addition, as the 2025 Copa Sudamericana champion, it is playing in the current edition of the Libertadores, where it sits second in Group G despite a heavy 4-0 defeat to Always Ready in Bolivia.

Although they were in different groups, the draw determined that the two teams would meet during the regular phase in an interzonal match. That time, Argentinos Juniors claimed a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Hernán López Muñoz and Nicolás Oroz, while Ramiro Carrera pulled one back for El Granate.

The winner of this matchup will advance to the quarterfinals of the Apertura Tournament

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