With surprises, Úbeda names squad for Boca v Católica | OneFootball

Boca will face Universidad Católica this Thursday at La Bombonera with the obligation to win in order to advance to the round of 16 and stay alive in the Copa Libertadores. For this key match, Claudio Úbeda will present a squad list with some new faces as a result of absences in the roster and several answers to this week’s rumors.

One of the main question marks for the clash with the Chilean side is the presence of Miguel Merentiel, a key piece in Úbeda’s gala team attack. The coach decided to wait until the very last moment for the Uruguayan and gave him an important nod by calling him up, although he still does not know whether the starter will be him or Exequiel Zeballos, who could be making his farewell appearance.

The coaching staff had also planned to test Edinson Cavani and Carlos Palacios, who have been injured for months, with the intention that they might be available on the bench, but in the end the former PSG and Manchester United player was unable to finish yesterday’s training session, and the Chilean was ultimately unconvincing despite having recovered from the synovitis in his right knee. The attacking midfielder will finish the first half of the year without having played any minutes.

On the other hand, the call-up of Agustín Martegani came as a surprise, as he had not been in the coach’s plans and had not been called up since February, when he watched the scoreless draw with Racing from the bench. The last time Martegani was on the pitch was in February of last year, 15 months ago, which makes it practically impossible for him to get minutes against UC.

In addition, the head coach gave a chance to Matías Satas, a left-footed center-back from the reserve team who will join the senior squad camp for the first time in his career. The defender is a starter for Argentina’s Under-17 national team and played in the most recent World Cup at that level.

His call-up is directly linked to Ayrton Costa’s suspension, as he will be unavailable due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Marco Pellegrino would be the starter in that position, and Satas would be the backup. Santiago Ascacíbar and Adam Bareiro are the other absences from the starting team.

Boca’s probable lineup vs. Universidad Católica in the Copa Libertadores

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