Barracas Central can stretch their home unbeaten run in the Argentine Primera Division to 11 matches when they host Colon on Monday at Claudio Fabian Tapia Stadium.
A week ago, Baraquenos moved out of the Group A basement thanks to a 1-1 draw with Sarmiento, while Colon are a point back of Independiente for first after settling for a goalless draw at home to Union.
Match preview
Throughout the 2023 domestic campaign, Barracas have relied on quick starts and home field to get by, and that has been especially true in the second phase, with all seven of their points coming at Claudio Fabian Tapia Stadium, where two of their three goals have come within the opening 10 minutes.
Last Monday, though, they could not maintain their early advantage, conceding an equalising goal seven minutes after going in front, only the third time in league play this year that this team failed to come away with three points domestically after drawing first blood and the first since Sergio Rondina took charge in April.
In the opening phase of this competition, Barracas avoided defeat on five occasions when conceding the opening goal, picking up a single point each time, but in round two, going behind 1-0 has felt like a death sentence, with Guapo losing all four of their matches when doing so by a combined score of 11-1.
Those five points claimed may not seem like a lot, but they have kept this team relatively safe from the threat of relegation, putting them on 42 points in the cumulative table, five points above Gimnasia, who are second from the bottom.
They have been in a position to win two of their three competitive fixtures against Colon but have only done so once, when they triumphed 1-0 in league play a year ago, the first meeting between these two sides domestically in Barracas.
The second phase of this competition seems to have breathed new life into Sabalero, who have already collected as many victories in this round (four) as they did in the opening phase, going from a side that finished second from the bottom in round one to one currently challenging for first in their group.
Nestor Gorosito's men were in a world of hurt after the opening round, going winless in their final seven league fixtures while being outscored 13-2 over that stretch, but they have cleaned up those defensive frailties in this phase, failing to concede on three occasions and already scoring half as many goals in round two (10) as they managed in the first phase.
Their 1-0 victory at Independiente on matchday one of the second phase equalled the number of road victories this side had collected in the first round, though they have missed opportunities to steal more points away from home, losing their previous two fixtures in this competition as the visiting team, despite scoring first both times.
Since the 2023 domestic campaign began, this team have struggled to put away their chances in the attacking third away from home, scoring a goal or fewer in all but two of their road fixtures while failing to find the back of the net in nine of those encounters, all of which were in the opening phase.
Domestically, Colon have only claimed five points this season when facing a deficit at half time, though they managed to win their previous encounter when they were behind, scoring three goals in the final 45 minutes to defeat Argentinos Juniors 3-1.
Team News
Barracas are expected to be without Ricardo Centurion, who has a sore thigh, Rodrigo Herrera has a groin strain, Lucas Colitto is dealing with a muscle issue and Fernando Prado will be out for the remainder of the campaign because of an ACL injury.
An opening goal from Juan Ignacio Diaz a week ago lasted seven minutes before Sarmiento equalised as Andres Desabato conceded for the fifth time in his previous two matches.
Gorosito went with the same starting 11 for Colon from matchday six to seven, with Javier Toledo and Santiago Pierotti being the only newcomers to feature off the substitutes bench last week, replacing Damian Batallini and Favio Alvarez, respectively, in the second half versus Union.
Ramon Abila saw his two-match goalscoring streak end in their previous encounter, while Ignacio Chicco only had to make two stops to collect his third clean sheet in the second phase of this competition.
Barracas Central possible starting lineup:
Desabato; Peinipil, Capraro, Alvarez, James, Insua; Mater, Tapia, Rosane, Zalazar; Susvielles
Colon possible starting lineup:
Chicco; Meza, Goltz, Garces, Mas; Galvan, Lucena, Ibanez; Botta, Pierotti, Batallini
We say: Barracas Central 1-1 Colon
Barracas have looked much more comfortable defensively in front of their home fans, but they will be coming up against a Colon side full of confidence given their form in this phase, so three points might be hard to come by for Baraquenos.
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