The second round of the Argentine Cup continues on Saturday morning, with San Lorenzo at home to Sarmiento Resistencia. Neither side has shown much winning form recently, and neither can be considered clearly stronger than the other, so this match is likely to finish level in regular time.
With the World Cup creating a break of nearly two months for every team, looking back at the matches before the tournament, San Lorenzo were not in good shape. They went winless in consecutive Copa Sudamericana games and ultimately finished with 1 win, 4 draws and 1 defeat, collecting 7 points and exiting at the group stage. A lack of firepower was the main reason for their poor results, with the team averaging fewer than one goal per game across their last six matches in all competitions. Still, with Sarmiento Resistencia also short on form, San Lorenzo should not find it too difficult to avoid defeat in normal time at home.
Compared with San Lorenzo, Sarmiento Resistencia were slightly better before the World Cup, though their overall record was still unremarkable. They posted 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats in their last six matches in all competitions, and like San Lorenzo they were also eliminated in the Copa Sudamericana group stage. It is also worth noting that the two teams already met once in the Argentine Primera Division this year. Antonio Aranda gave Sarmiento Resistencia the lead in that match, but an unstable defence allowed San Lorenzo to equalise, leaving them to settle for a draw. That result was the second draw in the last three meetings between the sides, underlining that neither team has the strength to overwhelm the other. All signs point to another contest that will be difficult to settle within 90 minutes.