With a team dismembered by injuries and participation in friendlies on the FIFA date, Boca will play this Friday from 7:00 p.m. in Mendoza against Godoy Cruz in a duel that raises its gaze to the top of the table. Boca is two points (36 to 38) behind the leader Atlético Tucumán and Godoy Cruz is six with 32 points. Neither of them and especially Hugo Ibarra’s team can leave points on the road if they want to reach the end of the tournament by fighting for the title. The feeling is that the championship will be defined in the last dates and by minimal advantages and the slogan is to try to get there as close as possible to the tip.
After a goalless draw against Huracán that left no one satisfied in La Boca, Circumstances force Ibarra to patch up the team. Between the departure of Luis Advíncula and Carlos Zambrano to the Peruvian team and the injuries of Nicolás Figal and Marcos Rojo, In Mendoza there will be a new defense made up of Marcelo Weigandt, Facundo Roncaglia, Gabriel Aranda and Agustín Sandez. The Paraguayan Oscar Romero will regain ownership in replacement of Aaron Molinas Y Luis Vazquez will remain center forward instead of Darius Benedetto who was weakened by some stomach problems that afflicted him last Sunday.
Boca will be a visitor, but not so much: some 20,000 fans are expected at the Islas Malvinas stadium because the provincial authorities enabled the presence of the so-called “neutrals” and the demand for tickets exceeded the most optimistic expectations.
For his part, Godoy Cruz is numerically close to the championship, but perhaps he bets more to finish strengthening his average (he is in 22nd place in that table) and to ensure qualification for the 2023 continental cups. They have gone three games without winning and last Saturday, they lost 3 to 1 with Barracas Central as a visitor. But in the annual table, it is only one point behind Atlético Tucumán, the last one that is entering the Sudamericana next year. Perhaps this is his true goal.