Preview: River Plate vs. Estudiantes
League leaders River Plate will attempt to claim a 10th consecutive home victory in the Argentine Primera Division when they play host to Estudiantes on Saturday.
The visitors, meanwhile, will be hoping to return to winning ways after failing to win any of their last five league games.
After 24 games of the Primera Division season, River Plate are leading the way at the top of the table, boasting a healthy nine-point gap over second-placed Talleres de Cordoba.
In their most recent outing, Los Millonarios played out a goalless draw against San Lorenzo, leaving them with just one win to show for their last six away league games.
However, it is on home turf where River Plate have done their best work this season, with their 11 top-flight home games producing 10 wins and one defeat.
The hosts have won their last nine home league matches, largely thanks to their sturdy defence, which has kept seven clean sheets in that period.
Ahead of Saturday’s contest, River Plate will look to draw inspiration from the 5-0 victory that they picked up over Estudiantes in the most recent meeting between the two sides in October.
After beginning the season with two defeats in their first three league fixtures, Estudiantes have only gone on to lose just one of their next 21 top-flight matches.
Although they have proven to be a tough team to beat this term, they have failed to win any of their previous five Primera Division games, which include four consecutive draws.
Estudiantes took a break from league action in midweek as they travelled to Ecuador to face Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana playoff round tie.
The Pincharratas were on course to return home with a draw when Leonardo Godoy cancelled out Fidel Martinez’s opener, but a 78th-minute winner from Janner Corozo clinched Barcelona a narrow victory, which leaves Eduardo Dominguez’s side with work to do in the home leg next week.
Before they can focus on the return fixture, sixth-placed Estudiantes will head on their travels for a tricky fixture with River Plate, where they will attempt to end a run of three away league games without a goal.
River Plate Argentine Primera Division form:
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River Plate form (all competitions):
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Estudiantes Argentine Primera Division form:
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Estudiantes form (all competitions):
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We say: River Plate 2-1 Estudiantes
River Plate have proven to be an irresistible force at the Estadio Monumental, and we think that they will edge out Estudiantes to claim a 10th successive home victory in the Primera Division.