The final of the Copa de la Liga is this weekend and after two semi-finals that both needed penalties to separate the teams, we will see Boca Juniors face Tigre for the trophy.
Boca Juniors will be looking to win their second Copa de la Liga while Tigre, who were promoted last season, will be hoping to cause a massive shock and create a fantastic story.
Boca beat Racing 6-5 on penalties after a 0-0 draw at the Estadio Ciudad de Lanús. 20 year old midfielder Alan Varela scored the decisive kick after Emiliano Insúa and Enzo Copetti had both missed for La Academia.
Alexis Castro had put Tigre a goal up against 10-man Argentinos Juniors but a late Gabriel Ávalos goal levelled the tie. El Matador won the shootout 3-1 with Nicolas Reniero’s decisive penalty cannoning back off the crossbar.
Boca Juniors vs Tigre – Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes
The two sides have met recently in Fecha 14 of the Copa de la Liga where Boca won 2-0 with goals from Darío Benedetto and Luis Vázquez.
Boca and Tigre also faced off in the final of the Copa de la Superliga in 2019. El Matador won 2-0 on that occasion. Los Xeneizes will be looking to gain revenge on this defeat on Sunday.
Breaking it down…
Against Racing, Boca had 48% of possession and managed just 2 shots. They had to soak up a lot of pressure against a strong side, but against Tigre we can expect to see a more proactive strategy in the final third. Although, Tigre like Racing try to dominate the ball and had 59% possession in their win over Argentinos.
Tigre have had more time to prepare for this game with Boca Juniors playing midweek in the Copa Libertadores. Sebastián Battaglia’s side drew 1-1 with Brazilian side Corinthians at La Bombonera with an impressive possession stat of 75%.
Both sides are effective passers of the ball and in the group stages Boca averaged a pass completion rate of 80% while Tigre had 78%. Tigre just edged it on passes attempted per match with 444.9 to Boca’s 437.9.
Tigre’s Ezequiel Fernández who is on loan from Boca will face his parent club for the second time this season. Fernández has been key to Diego Martínez’s side and in the group stage had a pass completion rate of 85.8%.
Boca’s answer to Ezequiel Fernández is a Fernández of their own in Guillermo Fernández who coincidentally also has a pass completion rate of 85.8%. Although Guillermo has more total passes with 583 to Ezequiel’s 514.
Agustín Rossi needs to be on form again, especially if the tie goes to penalties again. The Boca goalkeeper has made a total of 33 saves this season.
A potential match-winner for Boca is of course Darío Benedetto. The striker scored against Corinthians during the week and with 7 goals in the Cope de la Liga this season Los Xeneizes can be hopeful he can be the hero in the final.
Key player: Boca – Marcos Rojo
Boca had a lot of defending to do against Racing and Rojo being at the heart of their defence. The former Manchester United man also got them off the mark in the shootout as he converted their first kick.
Key player: Tigre – Alexis Castro
Castro had put Tigre ahead against Argentinos with a finish on the turn into the top corner. The winger has 2 goals and 2 assists this season and could be the man for Tigre to topple Boca in the final.
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