Newells Old Boy take on the visitors Union de Santa Fe in the round 20 match of Argentine Liga Professional. The match will be played on Monday, June 12th at Estadio Marcelo Bielsa (Rosario).
Newell's Old Boys the entire spring and the beginning of summer hoping for Messi's return. Lionel was nurtured in the Rosario academy and even spent five years there before moving to Barcelona in 2000. It was tempting to bring him back, especially since the legend promised to end his career here. However, for now, the "red and black" team has to do without their best prodigy. They have had little success lately, with their last title coming in 2013. In the previous tournament, they finished outside the top 10, in 11th place. However, this allowed them to participate in the Copa Sudamericana, where the Argentinians displayed a perfect record. This week, they managed to secure a 2-1 victory over Santos away. However, they quickly exited the competition when they lost to the modest Claypole at home. Their results in the league are also mediocre, similar to those in 2022: 7 wins, 6 losses in 19 matches, although the last four matches brought them 7 points.
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Union Santa Fe have existed for over 100 years but only had a noteworthy performance in 1979 when they finished as runners-up in Argentina. However, the club soon declined and fluctuated between the top and second divisions of the country. It was only in the last 10 years, since 2014, that they have managed to consistently stay in the top league. However, their results have been generally modest. For example, in the previous season, the representative from Santa Fe finished in 22nd place out of 28 teams. The new cycle started with an unremarkable performance. They defeated Estudiantes at the beginning of March, but those 2-0 were their only success in the first 15 rounds of the championship. They were also eliminated from the national cup, losing on penalties to Almagro at home. Nevertheless, they kept Gustavo Munua, a former well-known goalkeeper, as their coach. And it seems to be working recently. In the transition from spring to summer, Union has won three consecutive league matches: 1-0 away victories against Central Cordoba and Huracan, and a 2-0 win over Gimnasia La Plata in June.
In the last seven encounters, Union Santa Fe has only won once, in the spring of last year. During this period, Newell's Old Boys emerged victorious three times, including a 1-0 away win in October 2022. The hosts are considered favorites and have been displaying good statistics. However, the guests have improved in recent weeks, so we will go with the option of "total goals over 2.0".
Prediction for the match: Over 2.0 scored goals.
