Preview: Sarmiento vs. Racing Club - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to put an end to a worrying winless run, Sarmiento will host Racing Club at Estadio Eva Peron de Junin in the Argentine Primera Division on Thursday night.

The hosts are still in with a chance of achieving a top-four finish in Group B despite a below-par start to their campaign, while Racing Club are within striking distance of the league leaders.

Match preview

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Sarmiento's winless run in this phase of the competition extended to six games before the international break with a narrow 1-0 loss at Union after a closely-fought contest.

The hosts at Estadio 15 de Abril at the majority of the possession and chances, although it looked as if Sarmiento would return home with a solid point, but substitute Nicolas Orsini bagged a 94-minute winner, making up for a missed penalty earlier in the second period.

Back-to-back home successes against Tigre and Argentine giants Boca Juniors at the beginning of Group B set the tone for a good season, but their current winless spell has left supporters questioning the tactics of Pablo Lavallen.

Sarmiento are ninth in their section after winning just two of their opening eight matches, although Thursday's hosts are only two points behind Defensa y Justicia who occupy fourth place.

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Following a six-game unbeaten run to start their Group B campaign in sensational style, Racing Club have suffered successive defeats at home to Independiente and most recently Platense.

Racing found themselves two goals behind against Platense last time out after Nicolas Castro and Ronaldo Martinez found the net either side of the half-time whistle, and it proved that Baltasar Gallego Rodriguez's strike off the bench would only be a consolation.

Unlike many sides in their group, Ezequiel Videla's men have been fighting on three fronts over the past few months, although Thursday's visitors are now out of both the Copa Libertadores and Copa Argentina following defeats to Boca Juniors and Huracan respectively.

El Primer Grande are currently fifth in the Primera Division standings after collecting 12 points from their first eight matches of the term, although they will be leapfrogged by Sarmiento if Racing suffer a third-straight defeat in this one.

Team News

Sarmiento remain without the services of long-term absentee Jose Mauri ahead of Wednesday night's clash, with the midfielder still recovering from a cruciate ligament injury sustained in February.

Juan Kaprof is currently being kept out of action due to an elbow issue - the 28-year-old had failed to find the net in 13 league matches this year before suffering an injury in late July.

Racing Club also have a cruciate ligament injury to battle against, with veteran Emiliano Vecchio yet to feature for the club this year due to the issue, which has plagued him since his move from Rosario Central in the summer of 2022.

Another long-term occupant of the visitors' medical room is Colombian winger Johan Carbonero, who managed 17 minutes in the win at Union in March before being forced off with a serious injury.

Sarmiento possible starting lineup:

Devecchi; Bettini, Paredes, Calcaterra, Insaurralde, Diaz; Monaco, Quiroz, Quiroga; Mainero, Marinelli

Racing Club possible starting lineup:

Arias; Martirena, Sigali, Piovi, Rojas; Nardoni, Moreno, Gomez; Quintero, Hauche, Martinez

We say: Sarmiento 1-1 Racing Club

Despite their struggles, Sarmiento are never blown away in matches and will be confident of providing a stern test for Racing Club on Thursday night in front of their home faithful.

Racing Club suffered two shock home losses most recently but should be good enough to stop the rot and earn a hard-fought point on the road in this one.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.