Boca Juniors will be looking for a home win against Banfield on Friday to assure they remain in top-three position in the Argentine Primera Division overall standings.
The hosts conceded two penalty strikes to Union last Friday to lose 2-1, while Banfield extended their unbeaten run in second phase to four straight matches, coming back to draw 1-1 against Barracas Central.
Boca Juniors saw their home unbeaten streak stall at 12 consecutive matches last week, dropping their second game in this phase of the competition.
Friday’s defeat moved them three points behind Racing in the aggregate table in what was a physically demanding game against Union where 33 fouls in total were committed between both sides, with an additional three red cards being shown.
In their six previous domestic meetings with Banfield, Boca Juniors have not conceded a single goal, winning five of those matches, outscoring them 5-0 in two home contests.
Meanwhile, another solid second-half performance allowed Banfield to hold onto the final Copa Sudamericana spot last Friday.
Claudio Vivas’ side have not shown much potency in their five matches this round, though they have usually done enough to earn points, losing only one of their previous eight matches played in this domestic competition.
El Taladro can be expected to be a well-drilled and positionally sound team in their approach, conceding a goal or fewer in nine of their last 10 matches across all compeitions.
Even though Banfield have struggled when facing Boca Juniors, they can take a lot of confidence from how they fared against them in 2021, firing seven efforts on target while conceding five themselves.
They are keen to stop opponents from gathering momentum on the counter, often committing a dozen or more fouls over 90 minutes, even if it means they get booked by the referee.
Boca Juniors vs Banfield head to head
The two teams have previously met on 32 occasions across all competitions, where Boca have claimed 17 victories while Banfield have won five, and they have drawn in 10. Banfield have scored 25 goals and conceded 54. In their last five meetings, Boca have won four while they have drawn once.
Banfield 0-1 Boca Juniors 19/02/18
Boca Juniors 2-0 Banfield 30/03/19
Banfield 0-1 Boca Juniors 26/08/19
Banfield 1-1(P) Boca Juniors 18/01/21
Banfield 0-0 Boca Juniors 25/07/21
Boca Juniors latest home form
Boca Juniors lost their last home game 2-1 to Union in the league. However, they have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have been unbeaten in their 12 matches prior to that. In their last five matches, they have scored 12 goals and conceded six.
Boca Juniors 3-0 Tigre 22/05/22
Boca Juniors 1-0 Deportivo Cali 27/05/22
Boca Juniors 2-1 Arsenal 06/06/22
Boca Juniors 5-3 Tigre 16/06/22
Boca Juniors 1-2 Union 25/06/22
Boca Juniors latest away form
Boca Juniors have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their six most recent matches. They drew 0-0 with Corinthians in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded two.
Tigre 0-2 Boca Juniors 07/05/22
Ferro Carril Oeste 0-1 Boca Juniors 08/06/22
Central Cordoba SdE 1-0 Boca Juniors 13/06/22
Barracas Central 1-3 Boca Juniors 20/06/22
Corinthians 0-0 Boca Juniors 29/06/22
Banfield latest home form
Banfield have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their five most recent matches. They drew 1-1 Barracas Central in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and also conceded six.
Banfield 1-1 Atletico Tucuman 10/05/22
Banfield 1-1 Universidad Catolica 18/05/22
Banfield 1-2 Newell’s Old Boys 04/06/22
Banfield 2-1 Central Cordoba SdE 15/06/22
Banfield 1-1 Barracas Central 25/06/22
Banfield latest away form
Banfield have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their four most recent matches. They managed to defeat Tigre 1-0 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored three goals and conceded four.
Universidad Catolica 2-0 Banfield 28/04/22
Racing Club 1-1 Banfield 30/04/22
Santos 1-1 Banfield 25/05/22
Arsenal 0-0 Banfield 11/06/22
Tigre 0-1 Banfield 19/06/22
Boca Juniors news
Eduardo Salvio scored his second goal for Boca Juniors last weekend in the second phase, while Agustin Rossi stopped two shots in their goalless draw with Corinthians.
Carlos Zambrano and Carlos Izquierdoz will not be available because of red card suspension, while Diego Gonzalez remains out with a meniscus issue.
Banfield news
Giuliano Galoppo leads Banfield with two goals after five matches, while Matias Gonzalez is the only one with an assist so far this round.
Matias Romero replaced Alejandro Cabrera in the midfield in the game against Barracas Central, while Maximiliano Cuadra could miss a few more weeks with a muscle injury.
Prediction and Odds
Banfield have recently shown some improvements on the road domestically, and will feel confident of securing a positive result in this contest.
However, Boca Juniors are more than capable of getting the job done against a Banfield side which should not trouble them much in the attacking third of the pitch.
Odds: 1 1.89 X 2.00 2 2.20
Probable outcomes
Boca Juniors 1-0 Banfield
Boca Juniors 2-0 Banfield
Boca Juniors 2-1 Banfield
Boca Juniors 3-1 Banfield
Boca Juniors 1-1 Banfield
