Arsenal and San Lorenzo to continue improving

 

This weekend sees a gaggle of cracking ties in Argentina with four of the top five playing each other on Sunday evening, two recent Champions coming head-to-head and some intriguing clashes at the bottom. Fortunately we've got Ed Malyon to guide you through it all...

 

Saturday

Colón Santa Fe v San Lorenzo - 19:15

 

This looks a close game, with Colón being a side that will surely improve from their awful start, and San Lorenzo looking pretty good but having only picked up one win.

San Lorenzo have decided to build from the back under Juan Antonio Pizzi, and their record this season is testament to his good work, with just two goals conceded in five games this season. Unfortunately they've only scored three.

 

Colón's season has been quite the opposite, with just one of their five games going under 2.5 goals - San Lore's have all gone under that mark - which leaves us in quite the pickle when electing a bet.

 

It may just be better to go with the gut on this one, and with Colón having been so poor at the start of this season, they look a fairly solid lay at 2.5.

 

Recommended bet: Lay Colón at 2.5

 

 

Sunday

Newell's Old Boys v River Plate - 19:10

 

This match is set to be an absolute cracker, and if two of the top three weren't playing each other then it would doubtlessly have been our 'big game' but instead it must make do with a little snippet.

 

Second-placed River are 3.1 to win in Rosario, which on first sight seems a little generous considering that Newell's have lost four of their last seven games at the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa.

 

This can be mitigated by observing that one of those was Copa Libertadores, another against leaders Lanús, the third was a friendly and the fourth came at the back end of last season when they were in the process of blowing the title that was all but theirs.

 

A win for Newell's will thrust them into this season's championship race, whereas a River win would instead cement them as genuine candidates. Their improvement under Ramón Diaz has been remarkable and they are now on a run of six wins in their last seven.

 

Given Newell's up-and-down results this season it's hard to back them, and the 2.46 price for them is largely formed on the heroics of early last season. They look far more like a lay at that price, along with a dabble on the unders in what should be a tight game, but there is no bet leaping out at us.

 

 

Boca Juniors v Argentinos Juniors - 23:15

 

In this battle of the juniors, Boca are inevitably very unappetising in the betting having been hammered in to an unbackable outright price.

 

Often a subject for blind backers based on their worldwide name, the Xeneize have got off to a very poor start to the season, an unforeseen development given the return of club legends Carlos Bianchi - as manager - and Juan Román Riquelme - on the pitch.

 

They won a fairly dull Libertadores tie on Thursday night, and while this weekend's team will see lots of changes the gradual improvement in their fortunes is likely to continue against a rubbish Argentinos side.

 

The visitors have one point from a possible fifteen and are bottom of the table, forcing them to change manager already. Notorious firefighter Ricardo Caruso Lombardi has come in, and while the outspoken (that's a kind way of putting it) manager is renown for his ability to motivate teams, we are unlikely to see his impact quite yet and their squad remains of a low quality.

 

It should be comfortable in the end for the hosts, with Nicolas Blandi my tip for a goal, and they should cover the -0.5&1.0 on the Asian Handicap at 1.83.

 

Recommended bet: Boca -0.5&1.0 on the Asian Handicap at 1.83

 

 

Monday

Arsenal de Sarandí v San Martín de San Juan - 22:10

 

How Arsenal manager Gustavo Alfaro hasn't been nicked by a bigger club is an absolute mystery, especially given the high quantity of hirings and firings in Argentina meaning there's usually a vacancy or two.

 

In two years at the club he has taken them from lower-mid table nobodies to winning the national title and this week beating one of the tournament favourites, Sao Paulo, in the Copa Libertadores.

 

Having built on the success of 2012 with some smart signings, Alfaro is aware that he is likely to lose star man Lisandro Lopez to the bright lights of Europe come June and that things are likely to take a bit of a downward turn.

 

Yet they survived losing Guillermo Burdisso to Boca quite well, and Lisandro's fee is likely to be a record sum received by the Viaducto.

 

San Martín were atrocious last season and are currently on a run of no wins in fifteen games. That things haven't improved is little surprise, with this Western outpost a tough place to attract players to, especially with the centralised nature of Argieball.

 

They play a good side on Monday night, and suitably rested from their heroics in midweek, Arsenal should triumph over one of the division's pooorer sides.

 

Recommended bet: Back Arsenal at 1.78

 

Bet HERE

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