Newell’s Old Boys v Sarmiento
Copa Argentina
17th May 2021
🏟️ Estadio Único de San Nicolás
Newell’s Old Boys and Sarmiento played out a 1-1 draw in the final game of the Copa de la Liga’s Group B just a week ago but the the teams will meet again on Monday night, this time in the Copa Argentina Round of 32.
The match was originally scheduled for April but was postponed amidst a heavy schedule of games for Newell’s which included competing on three fronts; in the Copa de la Liga, the Copa Sudamericana and the Copa Argentina.
Newell’s qualified for the Round of 32 back in December 2020, when they overcame Sportivo Peñarol 2-0 in the Round of 64. Sarmiento also got past third tier opposition to get to this stage, beating Douglas Haig 3-0 over a year ago in March 2020, prior to the cancellation of fixtures in Argentina due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sarmiento, having exited the Copa de la Liga, can field a strong team at the Estadio San Nicolás (Copa Argentina games are played at neutral venues) but Newell’s Old Boys will surely have one eye on their Copa Sudamericana game against Palestino on Thursday 20 May. By then, their exit from that tournament might already be confirmed if Libertad and Atlético Goianiense (Wednesday) fails to end in a draw.
Germán Burgos will want to end this week with some positives. With our fate in the Copa Sudamericana out of our hands, an early exit in the Copa Argentina would compound a miserable start to his first campaign as Newell’s Old Boys manager.
The winter break will surely give El Mono a chance to improve the squad and after a whirlwind two months in charge of Newell’s, which has presented a crazy amount of games in such a short time, he’ll welcome the chance to take a breath and to figure out how he’s going to dig this side out of the hole they currently find themselves in. Having a Round of 16 Copa Argentina game to look forward to will help with that transitional process, if El Mono is given the time he desires to build a team.
Newell’s v Sarmiento Team News
Franco Negri and Jonatan Cristaldo are both back from injury and were included in Burgos’ squad for the Sarmiento game. Manuel Capasso, Justo Giani and Mariano Bíttolo have been left out, perhaps with one eye on the Sudamericana match against Palestino.
Franco Escobar, Maxi Rodríguez, Jerónimo Cacciabue, Francisco González and Santiago Gentiletti are still on the long-term injury list.
📺 Watch Newell’s v Sarmiento on Monday 17th May: Live on Fanatiz
⏰ Kick-off: 17.10 ARG | 21.10 UK
