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Heading into the new Argentine football season, Boca Juniors and Independiente will face off this Saturday, at 9:30 p.m (Argentinian time), via ESPN and Star Plus in the framework of a friendly triangular tournament (Tournament of Summer 2023) that Everton from Chile completes. The summer classic will take place at the Bicentenario Stadium in San Luis and will have both sets of supporters.
The match is one of the 14 that the five clubs known as the "big" clubs in Argentina have on their agenda and will be the first of the year for both Boca Juniors and Independiente, who are currently in pre-season prior to the official activity of the Argentine Football Association (AFA).
Still without reinforcements in the current transfer market, the team led by Hugo Ibarra will face a match that will serve as a test for their first major objective of 2023: the International Supercup.
In this regard, the coach has just over two weeks to put together pieces in a squad that has had very few new players - Rodrigo Montes and Nicolás Valentini have returned from Central Córdoba de Santiago del Estero, and Ezequiel Fernández from Tigre - and has lost Gastón Gerzel - loaned to Sarmiento de Junín - and Carlos Zambrano - released following differences with the coach.
Added to this is the fact that Nicolás Figal suffered a muscle injury during training on Wednesday at the club's training ground in Ezeiza and it is likely that he will not recover in time for the match against Racing. Without Marcos Rojo - recovering from a cruciate ligament and meniscus rupture in his left knee - Ibarra lacks options for forming the central defensive partnership and only has Facundo Roncaglia, Valentini, and Gabriel Aranda.
On the other hand, Independiente's story is very different. With a new coach on the bench: Leandro Stillitano has taken over the role and his mission is to rebuild a team that has lost many players: Benegas, Sosa, Fernández, and Romero, among others, and try to get it ready for the start of the 2023 Professional League scheduled for the weekend of January 29th against Talleres in Córdoba.
Furthermore, the match will serve as the formal presentation of the new signings for Independiente: Mauricio Cuero, Martín Cauteruccio, Rodrigo Rey, Matías Giménez, Agustín Mulet, Damián Pérez, Luciano Gómez, and Kevin López.
| CASAS DE APUESTA | BOCA | EMPATE | INDEPENDIENTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Te Apuesto | 1.70 | 3.75 | 4.10 |
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