Estudiantes aim to close in on the top of Zone A against a struggling Lanús | OneFootball

El Pincha will seek to recover after losing their unbeaten record, while the Granate will try to move past the heavy defeat suffered against Boca. The match will be played this Friday from 8 PM in La Plata.

Estudiantes de La Plata and Lanús will face each other this Friday from 8:00 PM at the Jorge Luis Hirschi Stadium, for the 10th round of the Apertura Tournament 2026. Both teams arrive shaken and in need of a victory in one of the highlighted matches of the weekend.

The Pincha missed a great opportunity in the last round by losing to Vélez Sarsfield at UNO, a result that cost them their unbeaten record and the chance to secure the top spot in Zone A. In this context, the return to the starting lineup of Colombian Edwuin Cetré, after a summer full of transfer rumors, appears as one of the good news for coach Alexander Medina, who continues with the competitive base left by his predecessor Eduardo Domínguez.

In Lanús, meanwhile, the euphoria of winning the Recopa Sudamericana quickly dissipated after the heavy defeat suffered at home against Boca Juniors. The team led by Mauricio Pellegrino showed difficulties in taking the lead in the game and also suffered significant losses in attack: the sale of Rodrigo Castillo to Fluminense and the injury of Marcelino Moreno weaken an offense that was key in the good moments of the Granate, currently placed in the tenth position of the tournament.

Thinking about the standings, the match could mark a turning point for both. If Estudiantes wins, they will become the sole runner-up to Fortín with 18 points. On the other hand, Lanús would reach 12 points and get back into the fight for the qualifying spots.

Additionally, both teams will have a special week, as on Thursday the 19th they will travel to Asunción to attend the draw for the group stage of the Copa Libertadores 2026, a tournament in which both the León and the Granate will be in Pot 2.

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