River will look to stay atop the B Nacional table when they host Atlanta (at San Lorenzo) Wednesday afternoon. Kickoff is set for 4:10pm EST. This is the first midweek match in the B Nacional for River.
Three new faces will crack the starting 11 tomorrow, all three are obligated changes due to injuries. Juan Manuel Diaz, Alejandro Dominguez and Rogelio Funes Mori are all out. The projected starting 11 will be: Leandro Chichizola; Luciano Vella, Alexis Ferrero, Jonatan Maidana, Carlos Arano; Carlos Sánchez, Ezequiel Cirigliano, Martín Aguirre, Lucas Ocampos; Andrés Ríos and Fernando Cavenaghi. Andrés Ríos will be making his first start in almost two years.
The bench will be comprised of Daniel Vega; Luciano Abecasis, Adalberto Román, Ramiro Funes Mori; Facundo Affranchino, Nico Domingo, Cristian Ledesma; Mauro Díaz; Gustavo Bou, Daniel Villalva and Fabián Bordagaray.
The last time River played Atlanta in an official game was back in 1984. That game finished 1-1 with the River goal scored by Enzo Francescoli.
Atlanta is another of the historic teams in Argentine football that currently play in the second division. Legend has it that the club was named after Atlanta, GA because on the day of its founding an earthquake shook the American city. Their nickname is The Bohemians due to being forced to relocate several times during their early years.
The Bohemians are playing their first season back in the B Nacional after spending 11 years in the Primera B Metropolitana. The past three decades have not been kind to the team from Villa Crespo, hitting rock bottom in 2002 when they were in danger of being relegated to the Primera C. Hard to believe this is a club that has spent a total of 45 seasons in the Argentine Primera Division over the years.
In 2004 Atlanta celebrated their centennial season. As part of the celebrations that season, Atlanta played River Plate in an exhibition game. The Millonarios spoiled the festivities winning 3-0.
Coming into the game Wednesday, Atlanta are in 16th place, 8 points behind River who will need to win to stay in first place. Atlanta won their game this past Saturday at Gimnasia La Plata 1-2. Their top scorer is Emiliano Ferragut with two goals.
The Outlook: River will play their first game without El Chori Dominguez in the midfield. Will this mean the team will be faster? Or will it mean the team will lack a creative spark? The spotlight will follow Andres Rios as well, given that he has been handed another chance to try and win the starting role while Funes Mori is out. If Aguirre is able to play at the level he showed early on in the season, then it could be good news for the forwards. With Cirigliano eating up the midfield it should allow Sanchez and Aguirre to move forward and connect with Cavenaghi and Rios. On paper River should have no problem winning this game, but as we’ve seen so far this year, River will have to overcome River for this become reality.
