River Plate, leader of the Professional Soccer League (LPF) but last in group D of the Copa Libertadores, will receive this Wednesday the leader Fluminense, from Brazil, with the obligation to win to have a chance of qualifying for the round of 16.
The match corresponding to the fifth and penultimate date will be played at the Monumental stadium from 9:30 p.m., with Colombian Wilmar Roldán refereeing and will be broadcast on Fox Sports and Star+.
The team led by Martín Demichelis will play a large part of their football year against Fluminense, the zone leader with 9 points, who will seek to seal their classification. El Millonario, on the other hand, has 4 points and is in the last position since it has a worse goal difference than Sporting Cristal, from Peru, with whom it drew 1-1 in Lima in its last appearance.
River reached this uncomfortable situation in the Copa Libertadores due to the defeats at the height of La Paz against The Strongest (3-1) in the debut and the defeat (5-1) suffered in Rio de Janeiro against its rival tomorrow.
The only points for Demichelis’s team were against Sporting Cristal since they beat them at the Monumental, with suffering, 4-2 and in Peru they salvaged a 1-1 draw.
Unlike what happened in Marcelo Gallardo’s cycle, it costs River more in the South American contest than in the LPF and he needs a victory to continue depending on himself and reach the last date against The Strongest, from Bolivia , also in the Monumental with the possibility of passing the round.
In the midst of a climate of mourning, after the death of fan Pablo Serrano –the Special Prosecutor for Massive Events of the City of Buenos Aires lifted the closure of the Sívori high tribune– during the match last Sunday against Defense and Justice, River will return to play against his people in a “final” that will define the course of the team for the remainder of 2023. For this momentous game, Demichelis will not be able to count on the midfielder and captain, Enzo Pérez, who reached the limit of yellow cards and also drags an annoying knee. Added to this is the fact that defender Enzo Díaz continues to recover from a sprained right knee and is still not available to the coaching staff.
Fluminense arrives as the leader of the group but is not in the same tune as it was when they thrashed River 5-1 at the Maracana stadium. The team led by Fernando Diniz returned to victory on Sunday after five games and four losses in a row after beating Bragantino (2-1) at home for the Brasileirao. In the middle, the “Flu” was eliminated from the Brazil Cup, one of the most important tournaments in the country, against Flamengo, its classic rival, and deepened the football crisis.
The Argentine striker Germán Cano, author of three goals in the 5-1, will play a special match as he will complete 100 appearances with Fluminense. Wearing the “tricolor” shirt, the former Lanús scored 68 goals in 99 games and also provided 6 assists.
Fluminense also has important casualties since the left back Marcelo, former Real Madrid, did not travel due to a muscle injury and joined the list that already had Keno and Alexsander.
Argentines go for the classification
Argentinos Juniors will be local tomorrow against Liverpool of Uruguay with the possibility of ensuring qualification to the round of 16 with a win or even a draw, for Group E of the Copa Libertadores de América.
The match will be played from 7:00 p.m. at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium, in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of La Paternal, with TV in charge of the Fox Sports signal. At the same time, for the same group, they will play in Ecuador Independiente del Valle against Corinthians from Brazil.
The referee will be the Peruvian Roberto Pérez, seconded by his compatriots Enrique Pinto and Stephen Atoche, while the VAR will be in charge of the Chilean Ángelo Hermosilla.
In the absence of two dates to complete the group, Argentinos is the leader with eight units, followed by Independiente del Valle with six; and Corinthians and Liverpool with four.
Argentinos depend on themselves against a rival that needs points to be third and enter the 16th. final of the Copa Sudamericana.
Gabriel Milito’s team, if they win, qualifies and if they draw, they can also do so as long as Corinthians doesn’t win in Ecuador.
Argentinos, one of the four unbeaten Libertadores along with Racing, Internacional from Brazil and Atlético Nacional from Colombia, will have to visit Independiente del Valle in Quito on the last date.
In the Professional League, the “Bug” ranks 12th. with 26 points as a product of an irregular performance, since he is characterized by playing with a superlative level in some presentations and in others he defects unexpectedly.
Liverpool, which at home in Montevideo drew 2-2 against Argentinos, made its debut last weekend in the Intermediate tournament with a 3-2 win against Racing de Montevideo, while in the Apertura it finished sixth, 14 points behind champion Peñarol. The Argentine Marcelo Meli (ex Boca and Racing) is the starter in this team.
