CA River Plate (ARG) vs Newell's Old Boys Prediction & Betting Tips - Liga Profesional Argentina

Prediction published on 25/08/2024, 10:55  by Joseph King in Football Predictions

Matchday 12 of the Argentina Primera Division sees ninth-place River Plate looking to move up the table when they host 22nd-placed Newell’s Old Boys. Let’s get into our prediction for this matchup between Los Millonarios and Los Leprosos.

With hopes of turning their season around, River Plate have secured the return of the club’s most successful ever manager in Marcelo Gallardo. The 48-year-old returns to River after an unsuccessful stint in the Saudi Pro League which saw him last just 33 matches with Al-Ittihad.

Gallardo inherits a team that is not too dissimilar in personnel from the one he departed with at the end of 2022. They currently sit eight points behind leaders Huracan with a domestic season record of four wins and four draws from 11 matches. 

River Plate are already seeing promising results as the team is unbeaten under Gallardo with two wins (both in the Libertadores) and two 1-1 draws (both in the Primera Division). Most recently, the hosts clinched their spot in the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals thanks to a 2-1 home victory (3-1 aggregate) over fellow Argentinian side Talleres.

Struggling Newell’s Old Boys come into this fixture hoping to stop the bleeding with the team having now lost their last five games in a row. Overall, Newell’s are now winless in their last seven across all competitions following the side’s penalty shootout defeat to Central Cordoba in the Copa Argentina round of 16.

The goals have dried up for manager Sebastian Mendez’s team as they’ve now failed to find the net in their last three straight and five of their last seven overall. In those six games, Newell’s have only managed an anemic two total goals.