Coudet must make two enforced changes at River | OneFootball

River have not yet returned to action in Ezeiza, but that does not apply to Eduardo Coudet. The coach knows time is ticking with a busy schedule on the horizon and, while the players enjoy their second -and final- day off, he is already planning the first hurdle in the upcoming run: Belgrano. With Sunday’s match at the Monumental in mind, the manager is preparing a starting lineup that will have to undergo two forced changes.

For different reasons, Chacho will be without either of his usual full-backs for Matchday 13 of the Apertura Tournament: Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuña. By default, that means he will have to tinker with a formation whose structure he had been keeping intact.

Montiel, who scored River’s first goal from the penalty spot in their hard-fought win over Estudiantes (RC) and became the team’s top scorer of the year with four, went off injured with 15 minutes left in the match. Tests showed he has a tear in his left biceps femoris that will keep him off the pitch for at least two weeks, which is why he was even withdrawn from the Argentina squad.

Who will replace him? Although the first signs will only start to emerge on Tuesday when training resumes, everything points to Fabricio Bustos stepping in, despite not having played any minutes so far this year. Cachete will miss the clash against Belgrano at the Monumental and is focusing all his efforts on returning for the Copa Sudamericana opener against Blooming in Bolivia on Wednesday, April 8.

At the other end of the pitch, the situation is similar: River will also be without Marcos Acuña, the starting left-back, who was also called up by Scaloni to the Argentina squad (he started against Mauritania). In this case, it will not be due to injury, but suspension: Huevo picked up his fifth yellow card and must serve a one-match ban against the Pirata.

His replacement will be Matías Viña, who arrived in the last transfer window to compete for a spot but has not yet shown his best form in the red sash. The Uruguayan received a call-up from Marcelo Bielsa and will also represent his national team during this FIFA window, so River hope he returns in top condition to take the field on Sunday.

As for the rest of the team, at first glance Coudet is not planning any further adjustments to the core group he has been sticking with, although that will depend on how the week unfolds at River Camp and whether no physical setbacks arise before the squad list is announced. The good news is that Facundo Colidio is available again after serving his two-match suspension and will have a place on the bench at the Monumental.

River’s probable lineup against Belgrano

Santiago Beltrán; Fabricio Bustos, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Lautaro Rivero, Matías Viña; Aníbal Moreno; Tomás Galván, Fausto Vera, Ian Subiabre; Joaquín Freitas and Sebastián Driussi.

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