The two hundred and twenty-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod is short but sweet with plenty of food for thought. Lanús and Godoy Cruz continue to look like the two favourites for the title playoff – indeed, Lanús could confirm their place with two matches remaining depending on results this weekend – whilst last year’s bigger sides all had underwhelming weekends due to Copa Libertadores commitments (Huracán went out on Tuesday night; River Plate and Racing followed them shortly after this episode was recorded). As well as this, we run the rule over Gerardo Martin’s 40-man Copa América squad shortlist, answer listeners’ questions, and predict what results will be like this weekend with the help of a die, to see whether it really is just pot luck…

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The Mystic Die’s predictions for round 14…

The two hundred and fifteenth episode of Hand Of Pod is a bumper one, as we’ve got a major talking point this week. Sam, Andrés and Boca Juniors fans Fede and Fran discuss Boca’s decision on Monday to sack Rodolfo Arruabarrena and replace him on Tuesday with Guillermo Barros Schelotto as manager. Is this the change in direction the club needs? Can the new manager handle Carlos Tevez’s influence on team affairs without upsetting anyone? And most importantly, with a Copa Libertadores game against Racing tonight (Thursday) and a visit to River Plate on Sunday, how quick an impact can GBS have? Aside from Boca, we also look back on a weekend which saw yet another great performance from Rosario Central, a second consecutive clean sheet for River and more impressive stuff from Atlético Tucumán.

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Episode 207 of Hand Of Pod is a very special one, because on Friday we turn five years old. Sam is joined for the celebration by Andrés, English Dan, Peter and very special guest Tim Vickery, who’s flown down from Rio de Janeiro specially for the occasion. Entirely coincidentally to Tim’s visit (honest), on Thursday night Argentina host Brazil in World Cup qualifying, so after a review of last weekend’s most important league action – which saw Nueva Chicago relegated in spite of an impressive win over Quilmes – and a discussion about our team of the championship, we move on to previewing Argentina v Brazil. There’s plenty of chat throughout about the differences between football in the two countries, from the trends in management (Argentina good, Brazil bad) to player development, in which it seems both countries have something of an imbalance in very different ways. HOP is sponsored…

In the hundred and eighty-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Peter and Andrés look back on a goal-laden weekend of Primera División action, and on last week’s Copa Libertadores last sixteen first leg between River Plate and Boca Juniors. We consider what River’s 1-0 win means for Thursday night’s return leg, and domestically we discuss Crucero del Norte’s uselessness, Belgrano’s and Rosario Central’s good campaigns, and Independiente’s chances of losing three players to various European clubs, as well as Federico Mancuello’s hilarious red card on Sunday night against Boca, and why he won’t be suspended for this Sunday’s clásico away to Racing, which we also preview. Listen before Thursday’s Libertadores second leg between Boca and River for the full experience, but there’s plenty more in store if you don’t get here until afterwards! HOP is sponsored by Argentina Independent, a fine English-language source of news from Argentina…

The hundred and seventy-ninth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés discuss referee Germán Delfino’s decision to rescind a penalty and red card seemingly on television evidence during Vélez Sarsfield’s 2-1 win over Arsenal de Sarandí on Saturday – what happened, and how have the Argentine media tried in places to twist the story? Other topics on this episode are River Plate’s weekend clásico win, 1-0 over San Lorenzo, and Boca Juniors’ 2-0 victory away to Huracán which took Boca top of the nascent league table. We also find time for a six-goal thriller between Defensa y Justicia and Rosario Central, the end of Unión de Santa Fe’s unbeaten record, and much more besides. This week’s history section is devoted to Omar Sívori, the great former River and Juventus striker who made his debut 61 years ago last Saturday. HOP is sponsored by Argentina Independent, a fine…

The hundred-and-thirty-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Peter and Andrés joined by German Dan to discuss an interesting weekend of matches, at the end of which Colón were still top of the Torneo Final pile, and looking increasingly likely to avoid relegation, points deduction or no points deduction. There were surprising results on Saturday and more predictable ones on Sunday, which concluded with a dire goalless draw between Quilmes and Boca Juniors. Boca’s next match is of course at home to their arch rivals River Plate, so as ever we dedicate a chunk of this week’s pod to previewing the superclásico; will River get their first win in La Bombonera in a decade? Can Boca lift their game? We also discuss Dan’s side Argentinos Juniors, and what’s gone wrong for them, and Peter tries to give us a quick lowdown of what mentalness is happening at Independiente…

The hundred-and-thirty-first episode of Hand Of Pod features Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Ilan. They look back over the fourth round of the Torneo Final, which saw some wonderfully entertaining games: two golazos from Gonzalo Castellani as Godoy Cruz beat Rosario Central 3-0; a 3-2 thriller in La Fortaleza where Lanús ousted Vélez; a frankly slightly silly 2-2 draw in the round’s final match between Gimnasia and Belgrano in La Plata… and a simply awe-inspiring performance from Newell’s, who ended a run of thirteen matches without in spectacular fashion, dismantling Atlético de Rafaela to claim a 4-1 victory (they did it again as this episode was being edited, beating Nacional 4-0 in the Copa Libertadores). Boca Juniors finally won a game; their 1-0 win over Estudiantes was the La Plata side’s first defeat of the year. And of course, River Plate and Racing are both looking awful again. We ask…

In the hundred-and-thirty-second episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam is joined by English Dan, Peter and Rob, and we discuss not one but two rounds of league action, with the third round having been played in midweek. San Lorenzo have started looking like the defending champions with back-to-back victories, Estudiantes have started with three straight wins to top the table early on, Racing look like… well, Racing, and it’s been a poor week for Boca Juniors. River Plate are in hot water over another security issue at the Estadio Monumental, and Tigre manager Fabián Alegre might be our new favourite manager. Oh, and Ricardo Caruso Lombardi’s back. All this and much more…

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Mystic Sam’s fourth round predictions
Lanús v Vélez
All Boys v Olimpo
Arsenal v Racing