Instituto vs Racing Club

Instituto and Racing Club are set to trade tackles at the Estadio Presidente Peron in their first Liga Professional encounter since 2006.

After a narrow 1-0 home win over season-long bottom-half strugglers Union de Santa Fe in mid-May, Instituto’s league form has drifted away as they’ve since alternated between losing (2) and drawing (1) across three Liga Professional outings, failing to score twice in that stretch. Moreover, both defeats in that sequence came via multi-goal margins and saw ‘La Gloria’ concede 2+ second-half goals. Speaking of Instituto’s vulnerability after the break, six of the eight home league goals they’ve shipped this season have come in the second half of play (75%). But despite their knack for falling apart beyond halftime, Diego Dabove’s men have only lost twice in ten home league matches this term (W3, D5), highlighting the potential for extending a two-game winning H2H streak against Racing.

On the other hand, Racing Club might have to contest fatigue to come out on top after falling to a 2-1 defeat to Flamengo in the Copa Libertadores last time out. Following a frustrating trip to Brazil, they return to the Primera Division, where a 2-0 home triumph over Banfield in the previous round helped them arrest a dismal eight-game winless run (D2, L6). However, given their poor 22% win ratio in away league fixtures this term, combined with the fact they’re winless on their last five top-flight travels (D2, L3), cannot inspire much confidence. Neither can their propensity for conceding on hostile turf that has seen them fail to keep a clean sheet in their last seven competitive away games.