Estudiantes' first squad list of the year does not go unnoticed

Lucas Bernardi decided to leave out Gastón Fernández, so he will not even be on the substitutes bench when the Estudiantes team visits Independiente tomorrow at 9:10 p.m.

Gastón Fernández is not suffering from any discomfort or injury, so his exclusion is purely a decision from the coaching staff. During the preseason, the albiceleste attacker had an active participation, and days ago it was taken for granted that he would be a substitute at the Estadio Libertadores de América.

This news gave rise to various speculations and many wondered if the reasons are purely football-related. The player became a father during the week, and this could be one of the reasons, although the coach will only be able to give an explanation tomorrow night at the post-match press conference.

Also missing from the list is Lucas Diarte, who did not sign the renewal of his contract and is being targeted by an important club in Chile. The next few days will be crucial, as both the management and the player expect his future to be resolved.

NOGUERA, IN

Regarding the players who are on the list, the most notable is Fabián Noguera, who joined Estudiantes' training sessions only last week. Alongside Gastón Giménez, they are the only two reinforcements present, as Jacob Murillo, Andrés Escobar, and Matías Laba were not called up.

With all the aforementioned, the list of called up players consists of the following 20 players: Mariano Andújar and Daniel Sappa (goalkeepers); Facundo Sánchez, Jonatan Schunke, Leandro Desábato, Gastón Campi, Fabián Noguera, and Sebastián Dubarbier (defenders); Rodrigo Braña, Iván Gómez, Gastón Giménez, Fernando Zuqui, Bautista Cascini, and Lucas Rodríguez (midfielders); Juan Otero, Mariano Pavone, Carlo Lattanzio, Pablo Lugüercio, and Gastón Fernández (forwards).

As for the starting eleven, and as this media outlet announced in yesterday's edition, the Estudiantes coach will seek to put on the field a solid team considering the opponent, and therefore will set up a 5-3-2 formation.

Regarding the names, and if there are no last-minute setbacks, they will be: Andújar; Sánchez, Schunke, Desábato, Campi, and Dubarbier; Braña, Gómez, and Giménez; Rodríguez and Otero.