River’s possible line-up against San Lorenzo in the Apertura | OneFootball

After the huge win in Venezuela, Chacho will field his best XI to host El Ciclón in the Apertura Tournament quarterfinals. The main doubt is whether Maxi Meza will come into the side after playing two straight matches following five months out of action.

The dramatic and hard-fought win over Carabobo in Venezuela left River with plenty of positive feelings. For the second time (the previous one had also been against this same opponent), Eduardo Coudet went for heavy rotation and still came away with all three points. Once the excitement from Maxi Salas’s stunning goal died down, the squad returned to Buenos Aires and, ahead of the match against San Lorenzo, the coach is preparing a team with the usual starters and two highly anticipated returns: Fausto Vera and Sebastián Driussi. There could also be one change.

Chacho stressed in successive press conferences that the absence of the former Argentinos player and the team’s first-choice No. 9 had had a major impact on the way the team functioned. In fact, after both went out, the team’s level dropped noticeably and the only two defeats of his spell in charge followed: against Boca and Atlético Tucumán, both at the Monumental.

That is why their return is great news for the coach: for the first time since the first meeting with Carabobo (April 15), he will be able to field his ideal XI again. Vera, after recovering from a medial collateral ligament sprain in his left knee, will once again partner Aníbal Moreno in midfield; and Driussi, who has overcome another muscle tear, will return as the team’s center forward.

But the new development is the possibility that Maximiliano Meza could come into the starting lineup. After suffering an avulsion of the patellar tendon in his left knee on November 9, 2025, against Boca, the midfielder returned to action last Sunday against Atlético Tucumán, starting right away, and last night he put in a good performance — including a goal — in the win over Carabobo. If he is physically fit, he could earn a place in the team to host San Lorenzo in the round of 16.

With those three developments, all positive for a squad that had lost several pieces in recent weeks, Coudet was able to make sure almost everyone was well rested as he looks to keep moving forward in the Apertura Tournament, while the team also moved to within touching distance of advancing from the Copa Sudamericana group stage.

In conclusion, the XI Chacho could field is: Santiago Beltrán; Gonzalo Montiel, Lucas Martínez Quarta, Lautaro Rivero, Marcos Acuña; Aníbal Moreno, Fausto Vera, Tomás Galván, Maxi Meza or Ian Subiabre; Facundo Colidio and Sebastián Driussi.

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