Union de Santa Fe vs Boca Juniors

Boca Juniors head to the Estadio 15 de Abril to encounter Union de Santa Fe in a high-stakes Liga Professional contest.

Union de Santa Fe’s phenomenal run of seven straight league matches without losing (W4, D3) ended abruptly at the weekend as Atletico Tucuman squeezed past ‘Tatengue’ 1-0. But the hosts are now six points clear of basement boys Arsenal Sarandi despite lamenting an underwhelming win ratio of 23% across the opening 22 Primera Division rounds (W5, D8, L9). Even though Gustavo Munua’s men head into proceedings as the league’s worst-performing home side with only 12 points from then games (W3, D3, L4), they can draw confidence from going unbeaten in their last three top-flight outings at the Estadio 15 de Abril (W2, D1). That should increase their hopes of avoiding defeat in a second straight home H2H against Boca following a 1-1 draw in this corresponding fixture last term.

On the other hand, Boca Juniors cannot afford another slip-up if they’re to solidify their pursuit of Copa Sudamericana qualification, with three points separating them from 9th-placed Belgrano ahead of this round. Jorge Almiron’s side sailed to a 2-0 home win over Sarmiento Junin last time out, arresting a dismal three-game winless league run (D1, L2). But they must maintain momentum to stay the course, especially after suffering three defeats on their last four Primera Division travels (W1). Since each game (won/lost) in that sequence saw the winner on the day keep a clean sheet, scoring first could prove decisive to Boca’s quest to avenge a lackluster 2-1 defeat in their last top-flight meeting with Santa Fe.