Boca Juniors vs Sarmiento

Estadio Alberto J. Armando forms the backdrop for a mid-table Liga Professional contest between Boca Juniors and Sarmiento.

Boca Juniors picked apart Venezuelan outfit Monagas 4-0 in midweek Copa Libertadores action to progress into the knockout stages as Group F winners. In stark contrast to their impressive continental campaign, the Argentine heavyweights have massively underperformed in the Primeira Division. Jorge Almiron’s men trail the Copa Sudamericana qualification places by four points, not to mention a staggering 22-point gap on top-placed River Plate. Indeed, ‘Azul y Oro’ come into proceedings winless in their last three league matches (D1, L2), failing to get on the scoresheet twice in this run, including a humiliating 4-0 defeat at Godoy Cruz last time out. But after racking up a four-game unbeaten home league streak (W3, D1) since a 1-0 loss to Estudiantes in mid-April, they are in a prime position to end their rotten patch here.

On the other hand, Sarmiento will hope fresh legs can help them build on a stellar 4-1 home victory over Atletico Tucuman last time out that arrested their disheartening four-game winless streak in the Primera Division (D3, L1). Level on points with Boca (28), the visitors may fancy their chances of ending a frustrating run of back-to-back league travels without scoring (D1, L1). Considering they had won two previous away matches ‘to nil,’ one goal could do the trick of Sarmiento. The only problem is they’ve lost both historical Primera Division visits to Boca by an identical 2-0 scoreline. Israel Damonte’s side must pay attention to their first-half woes after seeing 71% of their away league goals conceded this season come before halftime (5/7).