Newell’s Old Boys v Talleres
Liga AFA
17th July 2021
🏟️ Estadio Marcelo Bielsa, Rosario
New manager, new shirt, new season and hopefully a new Newell’s.
Ex-player Fernando Gamboa has returned to the club for his second spell as manager and his tenure gets underway with the visit of Talleres to Rosario on Saturday afternoon as the new Liga AFA season kicks-off.
After an atrocious start to 2021 under first, Frank Kudelka, and then, Germán Burgos, Newell’s have returned to the strategy of calling on former players to coach the side. In the past it has worked well. In fact, all of the club’s title wins have come under the guidance of ex-players-turned-managers.
The Gamboa era is likely to look very different to the disastrous El Mono Burgos era. Gone are a number of young players that Mono frequently called on, such as Manuel Llano and Julián Marcioni, while experienced hands like Mauro Formica and Santiago Gentiletti have either moved on or retired. Gamboa has made three signings since arriving back at the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa and Juan Garro, Gabriel Compagnucci and Pablo Sabbag have all made it into El Negro’s first squad but they are unlikely to start.
Saturday’s opponents Talleres had a strong campaign in the 2021 Copa de la Liga, only losing on penalties to eventual winners Colón in the Quarter-Finals. Newell’s played them away early on in the competition, drawing 2-2 in a game that La Lepra should have won but for a red card to debutant Justo Giani.
Fans are still not permitted to attend games in Argentina, meaning the players won’t have the support of the famous Lepra hinchada when they step out for Gamboa’s first game. However, the team are surely to be boosted by the return of Franco Escobar, who is fit to play. The loanee from Atlanta United has waited 6 months to make his second debut for Newell’s after suffering a broken foot in one of his first training sessions after arriving from the United States in early 2021.
Newell’s v Talleres Team News
40-year-old captain Maxi Rodríguez and 35-year-old battling midfielder Pablo Pérez are both out with injuries. Matteo Maccari has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and is self-isolating. Franco Escobar is expected to start while Facundo Mansilla will likely partner Cristian Lema in defense.
For the first time in a long time, no members of the Rodríguez family will feature for Newell’s. Alexís is reportedly out of favour at the club while Denis was recently arrested after an incident with a police car.
Ignacio Scocco, who has been in great form in pre-season, will partner Jonatan Cristaldo in attack.
For Talleres, Ecuadorian defender Piero Hincapié is still recovering after appearing for his country in the Copa América while influential midfielder Franco Fragapane was sold to Minnesota United of the MLS.
Manager Alexander Medina will choose Guido Herrera in goal for the Córdoba side but new signing Federico Torres who arrived from Banfield may not be ready to start yet.
Talleres are rumoured to be interested in Héctor Fértoli, formerly of Newell’s, but as of now, he’s still a Racing player.
Talleres predicted XI: Guido Herrera, Nahuel Tenaglia, Rafael Pérez, Juan Cruz Komar or Julián Malatini, Enzo Díaz, Juan Méndez, Federico Navarro, Diego García; Carlos Auzqui, Diego Valoyes, Michael Santos or Mateo Retegui.
📺 Watch Newell’s v Talleres on Saturday 17th July: Live on Fanatiz
⏰ Kick-off: 15.45 ARG | 19.45 UK
