The surprise that Marcelo Gallardo prepares in the River Plate formation for the Superclassic against Boca

Time passes and the expectation increases. During the last training session, Marcelo Gallardo stopped for the first time the possible team that will perform in the Superclassic next Sunday against Boca, corresponding to the seventh date of the League Cup. Although the doll began the practice with the same eleven that thrashed Gimnasia de La Plata, the strategist proposed a variant that excited fans: the entry of Juan Fernando Quintero by Nicolás De La Cruz.

The players worked at the River Camp with physical-technical exercises on a small field, but the coach kept the training he plans to face Xeneize a secret. Napoleon has the Colombian ace of spades and during the movements that took place behind closed doors he raised the entry of the Colombian instead of the Uruguayan.

The Millonario, one of the leaders of group 1 of the domestic tournament, has the possibility of repeating against Boca the same formation that beat Lobo 4-0. However, Gallardo will analyze in detail which lineup will suit him best. Beyond some untouchable names, the DT evaluates a possible variant in the middle of the court, due to a tactical issue, and has options such as Agustín Palavecino or Juan Fernando Quintero for Nicolás De La Cruz.

The charrua attacker started against the tripero team, but he could leave his place to Palavecino, who until now only started from the start in the classic against San Lorenzo, or to Juanfer, who continues with his set-up to be 100% from the physical aspect.

The coffee grower has been entering in the second half and in the Monumental he will play his first Superclassic at La Banda's house. The author of the second goal of the historic 2018 Copa Libertadores final in Madrid played in total four duels against Boca with River's jersey, but none were in Núñez.

Quintero played in the final of the Argentine Super Cup, which was played in Mendoza and won the Gallardo team. Then he was in two classics for the local tournament at La Bombonera (both ended in River triumphs) and the “eternal” final of the 2018 Libertadores, which was to be held at Monumental and a month later he fell to the Santiago Bernabeu. Already in 2019, the Colombian was not in two “supers” due to the rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee, neither for the Superliga nor for the first leg semifinals of the Libertadores.

The likely lineup would be with Franco Armani; Robert Rojas, Paulo Díaz, Leandro González Pirez and Milton Casco; Enzo Perez; Enzo Fernández, Santiago Simon, Esequiel Barco, Julián Álvarez and the last place will be disputed by De La Cruz, Palavecino and Quintero.

For their part, defender David Martínez and striker Matías Suárez did work with ball and the Muñeco will wait until the last moment to confirm their presence among the concerted ones. Both practiced differently due to their respective rehabilitation of injuries, but it is estimated that the cordovan scorer could be part of the bench of substitutes.

The Paraguayan (distension in the internal ligament of the left knee) and the former Belgrano (discomfort in the right knee) will be required to determine their participation in the squad that will receive Boca in the Monumental, although the “Muñeco” Gallardo has already expressed his position not to force the full recovery of both players.

Martínez, former Defense and Justice and defender of the Guaraní national team, has not played since the third date, in the 2-0 win as a visitor against Newell's in Rosario. The striker added a few minutes against San Lorenzo and Deportivo Laferrere, for Copa Argentina, after a long inactivity due to the October 2021 operation that involved a cleaning of the knee joint.

This Friday, from noon, Gallardo will give the usual press conference prior to the day, although this will be special because it is the date of the classics, in which River will have to be local at the Monumental with 72,000 people who sold out in a matter of hours.

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