The very busy schedule of the League Cup is coming to an end, at least as far as the group stage is concerned. After 12 dates squeezed into 60 days, in Zone A and Zone B the 8 teams that will get into the quarterfinals and fight for the title are being outlined. There is a curiosity, and it is that River and Boca have not yet guaranteed their place in the playoffs. Although the future of both is in their own hands.
Let’s see: River appears fourth in the Zone A table, behind Argentinos (24 points and +11 goal difference), Workshops (22 y +8) and the surprising Barracas (22 and +4). The Millionaire has 21 units (five wins, three draws and Friday’s defeat against Huracán) and a coefficient that favors it: +13. That is why today it marginalizes Velez of the quarterfinals, since Liniers’ team has the same number of points, but 0 goal difference. And also Independent is in the discussionalthough the home draw against Atlético left them with 18 points in sixth place. That is to say, There are six teams fighting for four places in the quarterfinals and separated by six points, when only six remain. in dispute. The other eight in the group have already been eliminated.
River’s defeat against Huracán
What does River need to advance to the quarterfinals? The team led by the controversial Martín Demichelis has two games left to play: next Sunday they will host Rosario Central at the Monumental (ninth, with 14 points) from 9 p.m. and will decide their luck by visiting Instituto in Córdoba (seventh with 17 points) one week later.
It is enough for River to win its two matches to secure a place in the next instance. But also, the crossings of his direct rivals in search of one of those four tickets benefits him. For example, next week Vélez will visit Argentinos. And on the last date, El Bicho will receive Barracas and Independiente a Talleres.
Zone B, red hot
If River’s situation is quite comfortable heading into the quarterfinals, Boca’s is quite different. It happens that Xeneize had a very poor start to the tournament and was only able to settle into the table in recent days (they won three of the last four games). He 2-1 over San Lorenzo It filled him with energy.
Boca’s triumph over San Lorenzo
In this area There are eight teams with mathematical chances of advancing to the next stage. The leaders are Lanús and Godoy Cruzboth with 23 points and the same coefficient (+9) although Granate is currently ranked 1st for having scored the most goals (19 to 13).
In favor of Tomba, it is given that they still have one game left, since they will close the 12th by visiting Platense in Saavedra, this Monday at 7 p.m. Newell’s (21 and +1) and Defense and Justice (20 and +1) complete the current qualifiers poker.
Only later does Boca appear, fifth with 19 points and +6but with something in his favor: he still has to complete the 63 minutes that were not played in the match on date 11 against Studentswhen Javier Altamirano’s decompensation stopped the actions in La Plata, when everything was 0 to 0.
Behind are Racing (18 and +7) and the Pincha (18 and +3), with the already mentioned detail that he must complete his encounter with the Xeneize. The last one that is excited about getting into the playoffs is Unión, today eighth with 17 points and +2 goal difference.
What does Boca need to advance to the quarterfinals? By adding the 9 points that remain to be played, they will be present in the definition of the League Cup. But of course, not everything is so simple: next Saturday, from 5 p.m., he will visit Newell’s (direct rival) and on the last date he will receive Godoy Cruz, who will possibly arrive at the Bombonera already qualified, which could allow him to preserve headlines for the quarterfinal crossing. And, at some point, he will have to complete his 63 minutes with Estudiantes.
At the same time, several crossovers allow them to play with unrelated results: next week Racing will host Lanús and on the last day Defensa and Newell’s will take away points, as will Granate and Estudiantes.
What would the quarterfinal matches be like today?
If the group stage ended today, the following would be the quarterfinal matches:
- Argentines vs. Defense and Justice
- Talleres vs. Newell’s
- Godoy Cruz vs. Central Barracks
- Lanús vs. River
The positions
The following are the League Cup positions.
The next date
This is how date 13 (the penultimate one) of the group stage of the League Cup will be played