The Newell’s Old Boys vs Lanús match will be at the Marcelo Bielsa Stadium in Rosario, on Sunday, December 15, 2013 (12:00 PM Pacific). This match will be of huge significance in the definition of the Torneo Inicial 2013 if San Lorenzo does not defeat Vélez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires. The teams Newell’s, Lanús, and Vélez are tied at the second position of the regular standings with 30 points, and sit 2 points behind San Lorenzo who has 32 points. If two teams end the tournament at the first position (with the same amount of points, no matter the goal difference), they will have to play a tie-break match to define the champion.
After a great start of the tournament for Newell’s, they now come into the match with a winning-less streak of 7 games. Their last victory was against River Plate on October 13, however, they will hope to revert their negative situation with the support of their fans. Although the coach Alfredo Berti did not confirm the starting lineup, everything leads to a 4-3-3 formation as in the last matches with: Nahuel Guzmán; Marcos Cáceres, Víctor López, Gabriel Heinze, Milton Casco; Pablo Pérez, Diego Mateo, Lucas Bernardi; Víctor Figueroa, David Trezeguet, Maxi Rodríguez.
Meanwhile, while Lanús had a bad start to the tournament, now they are competing for the league title. Adding to their great current form, they won the Copa Sudamericana last Wednesday, after defeating Ponte Preta 2-0.
Unfortunately, Lanús’ striker Lautaro Acosta has been ruled out for the match due to a hamstring sprain. The most probable lineup, not confirmed by their coach yet, is a 4-3-1-2 with: Agustín Marchesín; Carlos Araujo, Paolo Goltz, Carlos Izquierdoz, Maxi Velázquez; Diego González, Leandro Somoza, Nicolás Pasquini; Ismael Blanco or Nicolás Melano, Santiago Silva, Oscar Benítez.
Newell’s Old Boys vs Lanus Prediction
Although los leprosos (“the lepers”) are in a bad streak, the strong support of their home stadium fans could be of great importance in the development of the match. That is because they will encourage the team to go for the victory, with the hope of winning the championship. On the other hand, as Lanús won the Copa Sudamericana last week, they already achieved an excellent season despite the result of this game, therefore the players may play in a relaxed manner. The Newell’s Old Boys vs Lanus will end in a 2-0 win for the home side.
Newell’s Old Boys vs Lanus TV Schedule
The Newell’s Old Boys vs Lanus match will be televised this Sunday, December 15, 2013 on TyC Sports at 12:00 PM Pacific.
