Cerro Largo and Gimnasia La Plata face off in an interclub friendly that is scheduled to take place on the night of this Friday, January 12, 2024, starting at 9 pm.
Cerro Largo
The Cerro Largo team arrives at this clash with a big question mark about what to expect for the new season, but they want to welcome 2024 in the best possible way.
Keeping many players who were in their squad last year, the blue and white team is preparing to compete in the Uruguayan elite and wants to do better than it did in the previous season, when it ended its campaign in a modest 12th position on the Uruguayan first division, with 17 points in 15 rounds – four points away from the bottom of the competition.
Their most recent duel took place on December 6th, when they faced Maldonado and took advantage of the home advantage in their favor to win 2-0 without any major difficulties, confirming their pre-game favoritism in a great collective performance.
In their 5 previous matches they recorded 3 wins, 1 draw and only 1 defeat, beating Plaza Colonia, Maldonado and also Boston River, in addition to drawing with Cerro CA and losing to Racing Montevideo.
Acting as home team, the Cerro Largo team recorded a recent campaign with 5 wins, 2 draws and 3 defeats in the last 10 matches played.
Gimnasia La Plata
Gimnasia La Plata, on the other hand, arrives for this clash with the desire to surprise the Uruguayans, but they also didn’t have many reasons to celebrate in 2023, where they ended the season suffering an early elimination in the first phase of the Argentine League Cup.
Their most recent duel took place on December 1st, when they faced Colón and came out on top by winning by the minimum score of 1-0 in front of their fans, a result that served to interrupt the series of four consecutive matches without winning.
Only 1 victory, 1 draw and 3 defeats were recorded in the last 5 matches played officially. During this period they beat Colón and drew with Arsenal Sarandí, in addition to losing to Banfield, Atlético Tucumán and also River Plate.
Acting as a visitor, the Gimnasia La Plata team, from Argentina, recorded a recent campaign with only 1 win, 5 draws and 4 defeats in the last 10 matches played.
Conclusion:
In a confrontation that will mark the first appearance of the two teams in 2024, the expectation is that Cerro Largo and Gimnasia La Plata will stage a very balanced clash, played at a faster pace than usual, with both returning from vacation, which creates a interesting scenario for the under goals market, also trusting in the efficiency of their respective defensive systems.