Professional League: Berti prepares variants to face Independiente de Avellaneda

Independiente Rivadavia held one of its final practices before traveling to Avellaneda, where it will face Rojo on Sunday in the round of 16 of the Professional League's Apertura Tournament.

The single elimination series will be played at the Libertadores de América " Ricardo Bochini " stadium starting at 3:30 p.m., refereed by Hernán Mastángelo, with Nazareno Arasa on the VAR.

La Lepra reaches this stage after finishing sixth in Group A in the regular season. In their last match at the Bautista Gargantini Stadium, they defeated Defensa y Justicia 3-2, which allowed them to secure that spot.

For its part, Independiente de Avellaneda, which thrashed Boston River (Uruguay) 5-1 in the fourth round of the Copa Sudamericana, finished the local tournament in third place, allowing it to win this series at home.

So far this year, La Lepra and El Rojo have not faced each other. However, they did cross paths twice last year. The Azules' debut in the First Division was against Independiente de Avellaneda at the Parque stadium, where Carlos Tévez's team won 1-0 with a goal from Ayrton Costa .

The second meeting between the two was on July 27, 2024, again at the Bautista Gargantini, where the victory went to the Mendoza team by the smallest difference, thanks to a goal by Sebastián Villa .

For Sunday's match, Rosario coach Alfredo Berti is expected to make some changes to the starting lineup that defeated Defensa y Justicia in the closing match of the regular season.

The coach is expected to implement three changes. The most notable change is the departure of midfielder Luis Sequeira, who will be replaced by Mauricio Cardillo . This change is a response to a clash between the player and the coach during the first half of the match against Defensa y Justicia .

The other changes will be defensive. Paraguayan center-back Iván Villalba, who served a one-match suspension, will return to the starting lineup in place of Leonard Costa. The center-back duo will thus consist of Sheyko Studer and Villalba. Matías Valenti will also be replaced at left-back by Thomas Ortega.

These are the changes Berti would make to face an Independiente de Avellaneda side that's coming into the match on a roll after their thrashing in Uruguay. The Rojos' coach, Luis Vaccari, addressed the win against Boston River and the match against Los Azules, stating: " This win counts, but the upcoming match is a final where one side will remain in the competition and the other won't. It's a totally different match from everything that's been going on. That's why I don't think the previous game will influence that match, because it's different. I like playing on Independiente's pitch, with our fans and the people cheering me on. For me, that's important," Vaccari stated.

Meanwhile, the Mendoza team's coach stated regarding the match in Avellaneda: "We know Independiente very well and we respect them, although we're going in with great enthusiasm to do a great job and have a great match," he concluded.

The possible starting lineup for Independiente Rivadavia is as follows: Ezequiel Centurion; Luciano Gomez; Ivan Villalba; Sheyko Studer; Thomas Ortega; Maximiliano Amarfil; Tomas Bottari; Matias Fernandez; Mauricio Cardillo; Sebastian Villa; and Fabrizio Sartori.