Sunday, 19th April sees what might be an historic clash in La Bombonera between Boca Juniors and River Plate. If Julio Grondona gets his (and the only rule that’s ever followed in Argentine football is that what Don Julio wants, Don Julio gets) this will be the last superclásico of the ‘short tournament’ era. Juan Román Riquelme is expected to start for Boca, as is Sebastián Battaglia. The main intrigue now, after both those players recovered in time from injuries during the week, is whether River striker Cristian Fabbiani will play from the off, or start on the bench. The exact starting XIs for the match aren’t yet known, but what I can present here is the expected formations as predicted by Olé, the country’s main sports paper.
Boca Juniors vs River Plate, Torneo Clausura 2009; Expected starting XIs:
Boca Juniors (manager: Carlos Ischia)
R. Abbondanzieri
H. Ibarra —- J.C. Cáceres —- J. Forlín —- C. Morel Rodríguez
F. Vargas — S. Battaglia — C. Chávez
J.R. Riquelme
R. Palacio —- M. Palermo
Subs: J. Ayala; J. Krupoviesa; F. Roncaglia; E. Benavídez; O. Gaitán; L. Figueroa; P. Mouche
River Plate (manager: Néstor Gorosito)
D. Vega
P. Ferrari —- G. Cabral —- N. Sánchez —- C. Villagra
G. Bou — O. Ahumada — N. Domingo
M. Gallardo —- D. Buonanotte
C. Fabbiani
Subs: J.M. Ojeda; D. Gerlo; R. Archubi; M. Abelairas; M. Díaz; M. Rosales; R. Falcao García
The match kicks off at 3pm Argentine time (7pm British Summer Time), and if you’re not lucky enough to be able to watch it, there will be near-live updates right here on HEGS, providing my internet connection holds up (it seems to crash for five minutes in the second half every time I try and do this).
Hasta El Gol Siempre 