River Plate vs Gimnasia La Plata Match Analysis and Prediction

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Reigning Argentine Primera Division champions River Plate will play host to Gimnasia La Plata at El Monumental on Friday, looking to bounce back from a poor start to their title defence.

The hosts are currently sitting 10 points behind first-placed Argentinos Juniors as well as six points behind their next opponents Gimnasia in seventh place.

River Plate stretched their winless league run to three matches when they played out a 2-2 draw away to Velez Sarsfield on Monday.

Marcelo Gallardo’s side have now won two, drawn three and lost three of their first eight matches in the second phase of the Primera Division, and at the time writing they are currently 17th in the table, four points above the bottom three and three behind the top 10.

La Banda have struggled to find the net in recent matches at El Monumental, failing to score in three of their last four home matches, but they have had no problems scoring against Friday’s opponents as they have scored in each of their last 12 encounters against them.

Meanwhile, Gimnasia head into the contest after collecting just a point in their last league match, playing out a goalless draw at home to Colon last weekend.

That result did not only end their seven-game winning streak on home soil, but they also missed the opportunity to climb to the top-four, as they now sit seventh and one point behind Godoy Cruz in fourth.

Nestor Gorosito is tasked with helping Gimnasia improve on last year’s 11th-place finish in the top flight, and so far they have made a promising start in 2022.

However, El Lobo have struggled in meetings with River Plate in recent occasions as they have won just once in the last five league meetings between the sides, a 2-1 home win back in December 2017.

River Plate vs Gimnasia La Plata head to head

The two teams have previously met on 39 occasions across all competitions, where River Plate have claimed 19 victories while Gimnasia have won six, and they have draw 14. Gimnasia have scored 33 goals and conceded 69. In their last five meetings, Gimnasia have won one, River Plate three with one draw.

River Plate 2-2(P) Gimnasia La Plata 29/11/18

River Plate 3-1 Gimnasia La Plata 03/12/18

Gimnasia La Plata 0-2 River Plate 28/09/19

Gimnasia La Plata 1-1 River Plate 23/08/21

River Plate 4-0 Gimnasia La Plata 14/03/22

River Plate latest home form

River Plate lost their last home game 2-0 to Godoy Cruz in the league. However, they have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have been unbeaten in their previous five matches. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded four.

River Plate 8-1 Alianza Lima 26/05/22

River Plate 0-0 Atletico Tucuman 12/06/22

River Plate 2-1 Lanus 26/06/22

River Plate 0-0 Velez Sarsfield 07/07/22

River Plate 0-2 Godoy Cruz 11/07/22

River Plate latest away form

River Plate have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just two of their six most recent matches. They drew 2-2 with Velez Sarsfield in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 12 goals and conceded seven.

Union 1-5 River Plate 20/06/22

Velez Sarsfield 1-0 River Plate 30/06/22

Huracan 3-2 River Plate 04/07/22

Barracas Central 0-3 River Plate 14/07/22

Velez Sarsfield 2-2 River Plate 18/07/22

Gimnasia La Plata latest home form

Gimnasia have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their eight most recent matches. They played out a goalless draw with Colon in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded just one.

Gimnasia La Plata 2-0 Patronato 10/06/22

Gimnasia La Plata 3-1 Racing Club 21/06/22

Gimnasia La Plata 2-0 Flandira 30/06/22

Gimnasia La Plata 1-0 Defensa y Justicia 03/07/22

Gimnasia La Plata 0-0 Colon 16/07/22

Gimnasia La Plata latest away form

Gimnasia lost their last away game 2-0 to Atletico Tucuman in the league. However, they have recently been on a good run of form on the road, as they have been unbeaten in their previous six matches. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded four.

Patronato 0-6 Gimnasia La Plata 30/04/22

Estudiantes 1-1 Gimnasia La Plata 05/06/22

Platense 1-1 Gimnasia La Plata 17/06/22

Rosario Central 0-1 Gimnasia La Plata 25/06/22

Atletico Tucuman 2-0 Gimnasia La Plata 11/07/22

River Plate news

River Plate will be without Matias Suarez and Enzo Perez due to hamstring injuries, while Robert Rojas has a broken leg, Franco Paredes a ligament injury and Paulo Diaz a hip injury.

Julian Alvarez left the club for Manchester City, leaving Lucas Beltran and Braian Romero battling to start as the central striker.

Gimnasia La Plata news

Gimnasia’s Cristian Tarragona, Maximiliano Coronel and Leandro Contin all remain sidelined with long-term ACL injuries, but Franco Soldano and Eric Ramirez will again start up front.

Oscar Piris will be hoping to return to the starting XI ahead of German Guiffrey, joining Guillermo Enrique, Matias Melluso and Leonardo Morales in the back four.

Prediction and Odds

Gimnasia La Plata have recently seemed to lose momentun, collecting just one point from their last two matches, which will provide River Plate with confidence heading into the contest.

The hosts have struggled for consistency so far this season, but we expect them to come away with a narrow victory on Friday.

Odds: 1 2.20 X 2.05 2 2.31