Preview and predictions for the 14th round of games in the Clausura 2011 tournament.
Preview
Last week I got a poor score of 3/10 correct results and 0/10 exact scores.
In the first game of the weekend struggling Huracán face a trip to Santa Fe to play against Colón. The visitors are without a win in six games, slipping perilously close to the automatic relegation zone and have not beaten Colón in Santa Fe since a 2-4 win back in 2002. Colón have the worst home record in the division having only picked up one win and one draw in seven games.
Quilmes failed to win last weekend but they are still the league's form team over the last four games with 10 points. On Friday night they face Godoy Cruz in Mendoza province. The home team have suffered a number of slip-ups in home games this year but the only other time this fixture has been played in the Primera División they ran out comfortable 3-0 winners back in 2007.
There was no shame in Banfield's late defeat to runaway league leaders last weekend but they will need to get something from their trip to La Plata to play Gimnasia in order to avoid three consecutive defeats. Banfield have a brilliant recent record at El Bosque having kept clean sheets in all of their last six league games there since their last defeat back in 2003.
San Lorenzo have recovered from the departure of manager Ramón Diaz with a win and a draw under the caretaker team, this weekend they host Argentinos Juniors who lost 0-2 last weekend but still have the best defensive record in the division (7 goals conceded in 13 games).
All Boys must be on a high after their first win at El Monumental since 1973 moved them well clear of the relegation zone although they are still the league's lowest scoring side with only 10 goals in 13 games. This weekend they host Arsenal who experienced their first home defeat in 9 games last weekend and their first away win in 11 games the weekend before.
Racing Club are probably the division's most inconsistant side but they should be able to bag a home win against bottom of the table Newell's Old Boys.
Estudiantes are trapped in their worst run of form in years having failed to win any of their last 10 games and not even scored a goal in their last five games. Their visitors Tigre have clambered away from the drop zone with 8 points in their last four games having scored nine goals in the process. All the stats point to a Tigre win however the last time they beat Estudiantes in La Plata was back in 1941. I'll be bold and go for the away win although I get the feeling that I'm going to regret not saying draw.
Only one win for River Plate in their last four games combined with good results for the teams around them have left them perilously close to the relegation zone again. They are under a huge amount of pressure and their next game is the most famous derby in South American football the superclásico against Boca Juniors on Sunday. After a pathetic start to the Clausura Boca have come into form and are rising up the table, they have only lost 1 of their last 7 games and iconic striker Martín Palermo is back in goalscoring form with 3 in his last 3 appearances.
Olimpo are in 3rd place in the table but still find themselves in the relegation places thanks to the oddities of the Argentine promedios relegation system. This weekend they host Independiente who have not won in their last four matches. A win would certainly lift Olimpo away from from the relegation places given that 3 points are worth 0.0789 points to them but only 0.0263 to the established teams around them.
Lanús are unbeaten in their last 7 matches but this weekend they face a visit from runaway league leaders Vélez Sársfield who have won their last five games and are unbeaten in their last 7 away games.
Predictions
As the results come in I will fill in the actual scores and colour code the predicted scores, green for exact score, yellow for correct result and red for completely wrong. Each green score gets three points, each yellow score gets one point and red scores get nothing. If you fancy playing along fill out your predictions in the comments below to see if you can beat mine.
| 13-05-11 | Prediction | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Godoy Cruz | 2-0 | Quilmes | 2-3 |
| 14-05-11 | |||
| Gimnasia y Esgrima (LP) | 2-0 | Banfield | 0-1 |
| San Lorenzo | 1-2 | Argentinos Juniors | 0-0 |
| All Boys | 1-0 | Arsenal | 0-0 |
| Colón | 3-0 | Huracán | 2-0 |
| Racing Club | 3-0 | Newell's Old Boys | 4-1 |
| 15-05-11 | |||
| Estudiantes | 2-2 | Tigre | 0-1 |
| Boca Juniors | 2-0 | River Plate | 2-2 |
| Olimpo | 1-2 | Independiente | 4-2 |
| Lanús | 3-2 | Vélez Sársfield | 1-1 |
Score: 2 Points, another rubbish effort. A monkey pulling random balls out of a bag would probably have done better.
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