Racing and San Martín (SJ) Set for Copa Argentina Clash with Round of 16 Spot on the Line

Racing Club will take on San Martín de San Juan this Wednesday at 6:45 p.m. local time at the Estadio Juan Gilberto Funes in La Punta in a Copa Argentina Round of 32 fixture. The winner will face Deportivo Riestra in the Round of 16, according to tournament organizers.

Racing enters the match in high spirits after a convincing 4-1 friendly win over Olimpia in Paraguay. The Buenos Aires giants eased past Santamarina in the first round and continue to chase silverware on multiple fronts, including the Copa Libertadores and Argentina’s top division.

San Martín, meanwhile, faces a challenging semester. Bottom of the annual and relegation standings, the San Juan side lost two preseason friendlies against Belgrano. Still, they advanced after beating Gimnasia de Jujuy in the opening round and will look to spring an upset. Their only signing so far is Santiago Valle, on loan from Independiente.

Projected lineups are already taking shape. Racing manager Gustavo Costas is expected to start Arias; Di Césare, Sosa, García Basso; Mura, Nardoni, Almendra, Rojas; Solari, Adrián Martínez and Adrián Fernández. San Martín, led by Leandro “Pipi” Romagnoli, could field Borgogno; Molina, Lecanda, Recalde, Diarte; Watson, Diego González, Sebastián González, Fernández; Toloza and Tijanovich.