Preview: Platense vs. Lanus
Both aiming to build on positive runs of results in recent weeks, Platense and Lanus will do battle at the Estadio Ciudad de Vicente Lopez on Friday in the 22nd round of Argentina Primera Division fixtures this term.
Thanks to two consecutive wins, the hosts have climbed to 12th spot in Argentina’s top flight, while their visitors sit fourth following a six-match unbeaten run.
After a 19th-placed finish in the second phase of last season’s Argentine Primera Division, Platense experienced a relatively tough start to the new term, as they managed just four wins and 17 points from their opening 15 outings, culminating in a five-match winless run and three straight league defeats between late April and early May.
They appear to have turned a corner in recent weeks, though, as Martin Palermo’s side firstly arrested the losing run with a 3-0 beating of Racing Club.
The Calamares would go on to suffer two further defeats in the following three outings, either side of a triumph at home to Belgrano, but they now head into Friday’s meeting on the back of consecutive wins, both of which included clean sheets, as they firstly beat Tigre 1-0 earlier in June thanks to Nicolas Castro’s goal.
Following that triumph, Palermo’s men most recently travelled to take on Arsenal Sarandi on Sunday, and after Sasha Marcich put them ahead on the stroke of half time, Franco Baldassarra netted his side’s second in the dying minutes to wrap up their eighth three-point haul of the campaign.
Thanks to their back-to-back victories, Platense have quickly climbed to 12th spot in Argentina’s top flight, and with just a three-point gap up to ninth-placed Argentinos Juniors and 10th-placed Godoy Cruz, they will hope to continue their climb with another win on Friday.
Their visitors travel in a positive run of their own, though, with Lanus aiming to add to a six-match unbeaten run in the Primera Division.
After finishing 27th in the 28-team division in last season’s second phase, Lanus have kicked off the new term in style, as they currently sit fourth with 37 points on the board from their opening 21 matches, having managed 10 victories while only suffering four defeats.
The most recent of those losses came away at Gimnasia La Plata in mid-May, and the Granate have bounced back in style since, adding 12 points to their tally in the last six attempts courtesy of three victories and three draws, firstly beating Newell’s Old Boys and Atletico Tucuman either side of a stalemate with Independiente.
Following back-to-back 1-1 draws away at Boca Juniors and Union, Frank Kudelka’s side were most recently in action at home to second-placed Talleres on Sunday, and after going behind inside the opening five minutes and trailing until after the hour mark, the Granate were able to turn the game on its head and make a return to winning ways, as Leandro Diaz levelled the game in the 67th minute before Cristian Lema quickly netted the decisive goal.
With that triumph having cut the gap to Talleres to just two points, while Argentinos Juniors are only a point better off in third spot, Lanus will be keen to extend their positive run with the chance to climb into the top two if they can pull off a victory on their travels.
Platense Argentine Primera Division form:
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Lanus Argentine Primera Division form:
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We say: Platense 1-1 Lanus
With both sides full of confidence and boasting plenty of quality, we cannot quite pick a winner on Friday and anticipate a share of the spoils.