Boca Juniors Backed to Beat Riestra

Riestra endured a poor first stage and head into this match on a five-game winless run. Boca Juniors, by contrast, have won three straight in all competitions and look better equipped on both form and quality.

By 7MTHScore Staff

Action continues in the opening round of the second stage of the 2026 Argentine Primera Division early Monday morning, with Riestra hosting Boca Juniors. Riestra were a genuine bottom-feeder in the first stage and showed very little competitiveness. With the team also winless in recent matches across all competitions, their form is far from encouraging, and they look vulnerable at home against a strong opponent.

Riestra managed just 1 win, 8 draws and 7 defeats in the first stage this season, finishing second from bottom in Group A. Compared with their overall performance last year, the decline has been obvious. The numbers underline the problem: they scored only 5 goals in 16 league matches, an average of just 0.31 per game, tying Estudiantes de Rio Cuarto of Group B for the fewest goals among all 30 teams. Riestra also failed to score in 12 matches, showing almost no attacking threat. As for recent form, they have found the net in each of their last three games in all competitions, which suggests slight improvement, but they are still without a win in five straight matches and morale remains low. It is hard to see them coping with an in-form Boca side.

Boca Juniors finished second in Group A in the first stage with 8 wins, 6 draws and 2 defeats, maintaining a strong level of competitiveness. They scored 22 goals and conceded only 9 in 16 rounds, showing quality at both ends of the pitch. In their last two league meetings with Riestra, Boca recorded 1 win and 1 draw, including a 1-0 victory in the first stage, giving the players a degree of psychological edge. In addition, Miguel Merentiel scored in Boca's recent Copa Sudamericana match, helping the team extend their winning run in all competitions to three games. More importantly, he contributed 5 goals and 2 assists in the first league stage, and Boca posted 4 wins and 2 draws in matches where he was directly involved in goals. His influence has been vital, and Boca will hope he can lead them to another strong result against Riestra.