Central face Estudiantes, aiming to progress in the Copa Argentina | OneFootball

Central, coming off a defeat in Ecuador in the Libertadores, will face Estudiantes in the Copa Argentina round of 32 this Sunday at the Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium in Córdoba.

Central, coming off a defeat in Ecuador in the Libertadores, will face Estudiantes — who secured qualification in the cup in their last match — in the Copa Argentina round of 32 this Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at the Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium (Córdoba).

El Canalla will head into the match in a much more stable footballing and emotional context, although they have not delivered in the crucial matches they have played this season, such as the loss to River in the Apertura semifinals and last Wednesday’s defeat to Independiente del Valle, where they needed to hold on to first place.

Coach Jorge Almirón has come under heavy scrutiny because the fans are still not convinced by his approach and believe he is to blame for the adverse results.

As for the Copa Argentina, the yellow-and-blue side had made its debut with a win over Sportivo Belgrano of San Francisco and will now try to reach the round of 16, where it would face the winner of Barracas Central-Huracán.

For their part, Estudiantes will arrive at the match having gone through a first half of the season marked by footballing ups and downs and changes to the team.

The La Plata side lost consistency in the Apertura and was eliminated in the round of 16 by Racing at UNO. In the Copa Argentina they advanced after beating Ituzaingó; however, the main objective of the semester was the Libertadores, where they managed to qualify for the round of 16 — the draw paired them with Universidad Católica (Chile) after a demanding group stage.

That international campaign allowed them to maintain sporting expectations despite the difficulties they went through domestically.

The rivalry between Estudiantes and Central has gained significance in recent times, following the famous incident of the guard of honor for the annual table champion, when the players of the La Plata team decided to do it with their backs turned.

Probable lineups

Central: Jeremías Ledesma; Emanuel Coronel, Ignacio Ovando, Gastón Ávila or Facundo Mallo, Agustín Sández; Franco Ibarra, Vicente Pizarro; Enzo Giménez, Ángel Di María, Julián Fernández; Alejo Véliz. Coach: Jorge Almirón.

Estudiantes (LP): Fabricio Iacovich; Eric Meza, Santiago Núñez, Leandro González Pirez, Tomás Palacios; Ezequiel Piovi, Mikel Amondarain; Alexis Castro, Joaquín Tobio Burgos, Tiago Palacios; Guido Carrillo. Coach: Alexander Medina.

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