Gimnasia travel to Claudio Fabian Tapia Stadium in Buenos Aires on Thursday in search of their first road victory since the middle of August when they battle Barracas Central.
Los Camioneros are unbeaten in six consecutive matches in the second phase of the Argentine Primera Division campaign, while the club from La Plata are a point behind River Plate for an automatic berth in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores next season.
Match preview
It was a difficult start to the second phase of this league campaign for Barracas, who failed to win their opening five encounters.
Since that tough start, manager Rodolfo de Paoli, who was the architect of their rise into the top-flight last year, has found ways to get the most out of his players, as this side have turned things around and are currently 14th in the aggregate table.
Their 1-0 defeat at Velez Sarsfield ended a three-match unbeaten streak, the joint longest run for them in the second phase of this season's competition in what is their first appearance in the Primera Division in over 80 years.
Six of their seven victories in this round have come at Claudio Tapia Stadium, where this group have conceded a goal or fewer in six consecutive home fixtures.
With only six league matches remaining, there is still a chance for them to earn a spot in the Copa Sudamericana group stage next season, currently trailing Newell's Old Boys by six points for that final position.
We saw another tight defensive battle with chances at a premium this weekend, as Gimnasia were defeated for a second successive encounter by a 1-0 score.
That loss against Tigre was their first defeat at home in this phase of the competition, and it prevented them from leapfrogging River Plate for third in the aggregate table as La Banda were beaten on Saturday, 1-0 by Talleres Cordoba.
Throughout this round of the Primera Division, manager Nestor Gorosito has put together a traditional 4-4-2 setup more often than not, with his players doing an excellent job at cutting off the time and space that their opponents have when in possession.
They are tied with Atletico Tucuman for the fewest goals conceded in this phase (12), posting 11 clean sheets but failing to score on eight occasions themselves.
Thursday will be the first time that they will face Barracas in the Argentine top flight after both teams played each other twice last year in the Primera Nacional.
Gimnasia drew 1-1 at the home of Guapo in the last meeting between these sides in 2021, while they won the opening match in La Plata last season, 2-1.
Team News
Bruno Sepulveda scored his team-leading sixth of the competition for Barracas in their previous home fixture, which they won 3-1 versus Godoy Cruz, Dylan Glaby piked up his first since joining them on loan from Deportivo Moron, while Neri Bandiera is tied for fourth in the league for assists with four.
Ivan Tapia, who is second on the team in terms of goals and assists with three in each category, had the equalising goal for them when they met Gimnasia at home last season, while goalkeeper Rodrigo Saracho has featured in back-to-back league contests despite Cristian Arce posting consecutive clean sheets at home versus Colon and Lanus.
Brian Calderara might not be ready to return in time for this game because of a thigh issue, Sebastian Rincon is expected to be back from his groin injury in early October, while Thomas Gutierrez has been dealing with gastrointestinal problems and will not be available for a few weeks.
Brahian Aleman leads Gimnasia in goals and assists domestically this season, tallying four and five, respectively, while Rodrigo Rey has four clean sheets on the road in this phase of the competition.
Leonardo Morales is second on the team with three goals domestically, Ramon Sosa has tallied twice and collected two assists, while Cristian Tarragona has also netted a pair of strikes in this campaign.
German Guiffrey is out for the season with a shoulder injury, while one change was made to their starting 11 this past weekend as Benjamin Dominguez replaced Alexis Steimbach in midfield.
Barracas Central possible starting lineup:
Saracho; Diaz, Paz, Ferreyra, Blasi; Blanco, Tapia; Valenzuela, Glaby, Colman; Sepulveda
Gimnasia possible starting lineup:
Rey; Enrique, Morales, Piris, Colazo; Sosa, Cardozo, Aleman, Muro; Soldano, Contin
We say: Barracas Central 0-0 Gimnasia
The defending of Gimnasia has been a nightmare for opposing teams to contend with, and we expect to see Los Triperos hang back with numerous players surrounding Barracas at every turn on Thursday in a match that could have few openings for either side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
