Club A. Guemes vs Almagro: Match Preview, Predictions and Betting Tips
Published on Friday, 16 October 2026 by Steve
Club A. Guemes vs Almagro Prediction
Argentina - Primera Nacional Prediction & Betting Tips
Match Overview
EN VIVO: Midland gana por 1 a 0 a Almagro | DSPORTS FĂștbol
The 2026 Primera Nacional regular season closes this weekend, and one of the most intriguing fixtures of Fecha 34 takes place in Santiago del Estero, where Club AtlĂ©tico GĂŒemes host Almagro at the Estadio Arturo Jiya Miranda. For followers of daily football predictions, this is a classic end-of-season encounter between two sides with very little left to play for â and history suggests that is exactly the recipe for a tight, tactical, low-scoring contest. GĂŒemes arrive at the final round anchored to the lower reaches of the Zona B table after a desperately difficult campaign that has already cost three head coaches their jobs, while Almagro sit comfortably in mid-table under veteran tactician Carlos Mayor, who is completing his fourth spell in charge of the Tricolor.
It has been a painful 2026 campaign for the Gaucho santiagueño. After 33 rounds the home side have recorded only five wins and eight draws, scoring a modest 23 goals while conceding 56 â the defensive numbers of a side fighting for survival rather than pushing for the Torneo Reducido. The managerial merry-go-round that has defined Argentina's second tier this season hit GĂŒemes hard: Juan Vita resigned after Fecha 14, Pablo "Cholo" GuiñazĂș lasted barely nine rounds before departing in early August, and Mariano Munar has been trying to steady the ship since Fecha 24. If you enjoy analysing draw predictions, this fixture profile is a dream: a home side with nothing to lose, a visitor with nothing to chase, and a head-to-head record littered with goalless stalemates.
Almagro, meanwhile, come into this match in far healthier spirits. The Tricolor collected a vital 2-1 win over Chacarita Juniors last weekend â a result that mathematically secured their place in the division for 2027 and allowed Carlos Mayor to breathe after a season in which his team flirted with the relegation zone for several months. With the pressure valve released, Almagro can play with freedom in Santiago del Estero, although anyone familiar with their recent away fixtures will know that freedom rarely translates into goals for this pragmatic, well-organised outfit. In this detailed preview we break down the tactical battle, the predicted lineups, the head-to-head history and â most importantly â where the betting value lies for a match we ultimately expect to finish 0-0. For more fixture analysis across the division, check our football fixture and schedule guide ahead of the weekend.
Tactical Preview
AtlĂ©tico GĂŒemes: âMe he tenido que ir, pero volver siempre es lindoâ
Formation & Key Matchups
Club A. Guemes 4-4-2
Mariano Munar has kept the structure he inherited from the GuiñazĂș era: a compact 4-4-2 that prioritises defensive shape over attacking ambition. With 56 goals conceded, GĂŒemes have the leakiest back line in the zone, yet the underlying numbers are less damming than the raw total â the Gaucho often defend in a low block for long stretches, and their games tend to be decided by fine margins. The key matchup is in central midfield, where the experienced pairing of Fernando Godoy and Maico Quiroz must screen the space in front of the back four and cut off the supply into Almagro's number ten. Captain Marcelo BenĂtez, the most frequent armband wearer this season, will marshal a back line that should feature Axel BordĂłn and Walter JuĂĄrez alongside him. Out wide, playmaker David VĂ©liz â the team's assist leader with five â drifts inside from the left to combine with top scorer Juan SĂĄnchez Sotelo, whose ten goals represent a rare bright spot in a bleak campaign.
Almagro 4-2-3-1
Carlos Mayor is a coach forged in the school of Argentine pragmatism, and his fourth stint at the Estadio Tres de Febrero has produced exactly the brand of football you would expect: disciplined, compact, and extremely difficult to break down. Almagro set up in a 4-2-3-1 with veteran MatĂas Laba â signed from San Telmo mid-season â sitting at the base of midfield alongside the energetic Leonel Retamar. New signings Brian Negro and Claudio Salto have added physicality to a defence that conceded surprisingly few goals during the run-in, while Facundo De La Vega provides the creative link between midfield and attack. Away from home, Mayor is more than happy to cede possession, compress the space between the lines and force opponents into low-percentage shots from distance. It is a style tailor-made for frustrating teams in GĂŒemes' emotional state, and it has served the Tricolor well in this fixture over the years.
Critical Vulnerability
The critical vulnerability in this match is not tactical but psychological â and it affects both teams equally. With GĂŒemes' fate sealed and Almagro safe, the final-round context suppresses the intensity that normally fuels goals in the Primera Nacional. GĂŒemes' defence has struggled all season against sides that attack with pace, but Almagro do not play that way; conversely, Almagro's greatest weakness on the road is a chronic inability to convert pressure into shots on target. Neither goalkeeper â the reliable Leandro Finochietto for the hosts or SebastiĂĄn Anchoverri for the visitors â should be seriously overworked. Readers who follow our over/under betting analysis will recognise the profile instantly: two shot-shy attacks, two deep mid-blocks, and a head-to-head record screaming stalemate. This is precisely the kind of game where the BTTS/NG markets offer the clearest picture.
Team News & Squad Status
Club A. Guemes đŽđŽđĄđŽđĄ
- GĂŒemes are winless in 14 league matches â a run stretching back to mid-July â and have lost ten of those encounters.
- Mariano Munar, the third head coach of the season after Juan Vita and Pablo "Cholo" GuiñazĂș, continues without a fully fit first-choice defensive unit.
- Top scorer Juan SĂĄnchez Sotelo (10 goals) is fit and expected to lead the line alongside Santiago Sala, who has chipped in with four goals.
- Mid-season reinforcements IvĂĄn Ortigoza (winger), Lucas GuiñazĂș (19-year-old defender and son of the former coach), Ciro Leineker and teenage striker Bautista Gerez are all pushing for starting places.
- Thomas Amilivia and GastĂłn EspĂłsito departed during the mid-year transfer window and are no longer part of the 2026/2027 project.
- Goalkeeper Leandro Finochietto, the ever-present with 31 starts, anchors the side and will captain the defence in front of the home fans.
Almagro đąđĄđŽđĄđą
- Almagro sealed their safety with a morale-boosting 2-1 home win over Chacarita Juniors last weekend and arrive with zero pressure on their shoulders.
- Carlos Mayor, in his fourth spell in charge, has a near full-strength squad to choose from for the season finale.
- Mid-season signings MatĂas Laba (midfield), Brian Negro and Claudio Salto (defence), Facundo De La Vega (attack) and goalkeeper SebastiĂĄn Anchoverri have all integrated into the starting group.
- Departed forwards Andrés Chåvez and Oscar Belinetz are no longer at the club, shifting the goalscoring burden onto Pedro Blanco and the supporting cast of Francisco Marco and Enzo Silcan.
- Veteran midfielder MatĂas Cortave and defender Aldo Rimbelitti provide experience in the spine of the team.
- On the road this season Almagro have been notably conservative, averaging well under a goal per away match â a trend fully in line with Mayor's philosophy.
Predicted Lineups
SĂĄnchez Sotelo, una ficha de jerarquĂa para GĂŒemes - El centroatacante tiene 38 años y una gran trayectoria, con pasado en la Primera divisiĂłn y el exterior. Vita suma experiencia en la ofensiva.
| Club A. Guemes 4-4-2 | Almagro 4-2-3-1 |
|---|---|
| Leandro Finochietto (GK) | SebastiĂĄn Anchoverri (GK) |
| Axel BordĂłn â Marcelo BenĂtez (C) â Walter JuĂĄrez â Facundo Rizzi | Brian Negro â Aldo Rimbelitti â MatĂas Cortave â Facundo Faija |
| Gianfranco Baier â Fernando Godoy â Maico Quiroz â David VĂ©liz | MatĂas Laba â Leonel Retamar |
| Juan SĂĄnchez Sotelo â Santiago Sala | Francisco Marco â Enzo Silcan â Facundo De La Vega |
| Impact subs: IvĂĄn Ortigoza, Ciro Leineker, Bautista Gerez | Pedro Blanco (ST) | Impact subs: Claudio Salto, Pedro Blanco |
Head-to-Head Record
The historical record between these two clubs is one of the most remarkable in the Primera Nacional. Since they first met in 2021, GĂŒemes and Almagro have faced each other repeatedly â and the overwhelming majority of those encounters have produced almost nothing in the way of goals. Four of the last seven meetings have finished 0-0, including a goalless draw at this very ground in June 2025, a 0-0 in JosĂ© Ingenieros in November 2021, and identical scorelines in both 2023 fixtures. The rare exceptions only prove the rule: a 1-0 GĂŒemes win in June 2022, a 1-0 GĂŒemes victory at Almagro in October 2025 thanks to a TomĂĄs Federico strike, and Almagro's 2-0 win in the reverse fixture earlier this season â a result you can revisit in our reverse-fixture preview. Almagro also came out on top of the Copa Argentina tie between the sides back in 2021, on penalties after another 0-0 draw.
Those numbers tell a striking story: nine meetings, just two wins apiece, four draws, and a combined goal tally that barely reaches double figures. Five of the last seven league encounters between these sides have featured fewer than 1.5 total goals. When two teams share such a persistent stylistic stalemate, it is rarely an accident â both clubs' identities, squad constructions and coaching philosophies actively produce this outcome. Bettors tracking correct score predictions have long treated this fixture as a banker for low-scoring outcomes, and there is no evidence from the 2026 season to suggest anything different this time around.
Key Players Comparison
Position: Striker | 2026 goals: 10
In a season to forget for GĂŒemes, SĂĄnchez Sotelo has been the lone consistent threat. His ten goals account for nearly half of the team's entire league output, and his movement between the centre-backs will test Aldo Rimbelitti and MatĂas Cortave. If there is a player capable of breaking this fixture's goalless habit single-handedly, it is the veteran number nine.
Position: Attacking Midfielder | 2026 assists: 5
VĂ©liz is the creative heartbeat of this side, drifting in from the left half-space to thread passes through compact defences. Against Almagro's deep 4-2-3-1, his ability to find pockets of space in front of the back line will be decisive in whether the home side can muster anything resembling a clear chance.
Position: Defensive Midfielder
Signed from San Telmo mid-season, Laba has given Almagro exactly what they lacked in the first half of the campaign: positional discipline and ball-winning presence in front of the defence. His duel with SĂĄnchez Sotelo â dropping to help the centre-backs whenever the striker drifts â will be one of the defining individual battles of the afternoon.
Position: Goalkeeper
The 35-year-old shot-stopper arrived from Chacarita Juniors as a free-agent signing and has brought calm and authority to the Tricolor goal. Against a GĂŒemes side that rarely generates high-quality chances, Anchoverri's command of his area on crosses and set pieces could be the final nail in the coffin of any home ambitions.
The contrast in star power mirrors the contrast in seasons. GĂŒemes' key men are individuals who have produced despite the collective collapse â SĂĄnchez Sotelo and VĂ©liz have essentially carried the attack on their own, as reflected in the side's recent fixtures against Temperley and Colegiales, both of which ended in defeat despite their efforts. Almagro's standouts, by contrast, are system players: Laba, Anchoverri, Cortave and Rimbelitti are the pillars of a defensive structure that conceded very little during the survival run-in, including hard-fought battles against Nueva Chicago and Chacarita Juniors. Structure versus individual brilliance is the defining duel â and in Argentine second-tier football, structure almost always wins.
The Managers
Mariano Munar (Club A. Guemes)
Munar inherited one of the most difficult jobs in Argentine football when he took over at GĂŒemes in the second half of the season, following the resignation of Juan Vita and the departure of Pablo "Cholo" GuiñazĂș â whose brief project at the club even included signing his own son, young defender Lucas GuiñazĂș. Tasked with steadying a sinking ship, Munar has prioritised damage limitation: tightening the defensive block, simplifying the build-up and leaning on the experience of Finochietto, BenĂtez and Godoy.
His record since arriving reflects the limitations of the squad rather than the quality of his work. The Gaucho remain entrenched in the relegation conversation, but performances have been broadly competitive, with narrow defeats rather than the heavy losses of earlier in the campaign. Closing the season with a home clean sheet against a safe Almagro side would be a small but meaningful foundation for the 2027 rebuild.
Carlos Mayor (Almagro)
At 60 years of age, Carlos Mayor knows the Primera Nacional better than almost any active coach in the country â and he knows Almagro better than any other club, having now begun his fourth separate spell in charge of the Tricolor. Appointed in late April after Gabriel GĂłmez's departure, Mayor took over a team bottom of the zone and guided it methodically to safety, culminating in last weekend's crucial win over Chacarita.
Mayor's trademark is defensive organisation married to emotional intelligence: his teams rarely lose shape, rarely panic, and rarely concede early. With 28 wins, 28 draws and 20 defeats across his previous three spells, his record is a portrait of equilibrium â and equilibrium, in this fixture more than most, is a powerful weapon. Expect Almagro to mirror GĂŒemes' caution and play for the point that completes a satisfactory season.
Betting Predictions & Tips
Odds: 2.90 (European)
Everything about this fixture points to a stalemate. Four of the last seven meetings ended level â most of them 0-0 â and the context amplifies the trend: a home side that has won only five of 33 matches, a visitor with nothing to play for, and two coaches whose instincts are defensive. At odds against, the draw is the value selection. Check our draw no bet guide if you prefer insurance on this selection.
Odds: 1.62 (European)
Neither of these teams scores freely. GĂŒemes have netted just 23 times in 33 rounds; Almagro have been among the lowest-scoring away sides in the zone. Their recent head-to-heads have produced 0-0, 0-0, 1-0, 0-0 and 1-0 scorelines. Under 2.5 goals has landed in the overwhelming majority of this pairing's recent encounters, making 1.62 a fair price for a very probable outcome. Our over/under predictions page covers similar angles across the weekend card.
Odds: 1.75 (European)
Five of the last seven H2H meetings have seen at least one side fail to score, and in three of the last four, both failed entirely. GĂŒemes have been blanked repeatedly at home during their winless run, while Almagro's away attack has misfired all season. With both defences likely to dominate a slow-paced contest, "No" on the BTTS market looks strongly supported â see also our dedicated GG/NG analysis for how these markets behave in low-tempo fixtures.
Odds: 6.50 (European)
Our headline prediction. This exact scoreline has landed in four of the last seven H2H meetings, and both current campaigns reinforce the pattern: GĂŒemes' attack is the least productive in the zone, and Almagro play their most conservative football away from home. The 0-0 correct score at 6.50 offers outstanding value for a result that history suggests is the single most likely outcome of this match. More angles on this market are available in our correct score tips section.
Odds: 2.10 (European)
For bettors who like a higher-probability speculative angle, the first-half goalless option is compelling. End-of-season dead rubbers in the Primera Nacional are notoriously cagey in the opening 45 minutes, and both of these sides habitually start conservatively. If the first half passes without a goal â as it has in the majority of recent H2H meetings â you are paid out before the second half even begins. New to European odds formats? Our guide on understanding online betting odds explains exactly how these prices work.
đ Final Score Prediction
Match Analysis
We predict a 0-0 draw at the Estadio Arturo Jiya Miranda â a conclusion supported by virtually every analytical angle available. The head-to-head record is the strongest signal: these clubs have produced goalless draws in the majority of their recent meetings, including at this stadium just over a year ago. Neither side arrives with attacking momentum. GĂŒemes have scored just 23 goals in 33 rounds and are winless in 14, while Almagro's away record is defined by defensive resilience rather than offensive firepower â a pattern visible in their recent trips to TristĂĄn SuĂĄrez and San MartĂn de TucumĂĄn.
Tactically, the game sets up as a meeting of two deep blocks with neither team possessing the creative quality or urgency to force the issue. GĂŒemes will look to SĂĄnchez Sotelo and VĂ©liz for a moment of magic, but Almagro's summer-reinforced defence â Negro, Salto, Cortave, Rimbelitti â plus the screening of Laba in front, is precisely the kind of structure that neutralises isolated individual quality. At the other end, Mayor has no incentive to commit numbers forward in a season finale his team does not need to win. Expect long spells of midfield sparring, set pieces that come to nothing, and two goalkeepers leaving with clean sheets. For a broader view of how we model scorelines across competitions, our tomorrow's football predictions page applies the same framework to every fixture on the card.
Key Insights & Statistics
- đ„ Four of the last seven H2H meetings between GĂŒemes and Almagro have finished 0-0, and five of the seven have produced under 1.5 total goals.
- đ GĂŒemes are winless in 14 Primera Nacional matches (4 draws, 10 defeats) and have the worst defensive record in their zone with 56 goals conceded.
- ✠Juan SĂĄnchez Sotelo has scored 10 of GĂŒemes' 23 league goals this season â nearly 43% of the team's entire output.
- 𧀠Leandro Finochietto has started 31 of 33 league matches in goal for the hosts, while summer signing Sebastiån Anchoverri has brought stability to Almagro's goal.
- đ Both clubs changed head coaches mid-season; GĂŒemes are on their third manager of the campaign (Vita â GuiñazĂș â Munar), while Carlos Mayor is in his fourth spell with Almagro.
- đ Almagro have averaged under one goal per away match in 2026 and have drawn the majority of their recent road fixtures â including trips covered in our AtlĂ©tico Rafaela preview.
- đ Both teams enter the final round with nothing to play for: Almagro are mathematically safe after beating Chacarita, while GĂŒemes' relegation fate is already sealed â the classic recipe for a low-intensity stalemate.
- đœ Mid-season reinforcements IvĂĄn Ortigoza and Lucas GuiñazĂș give the hosts fresh legs out wide, but neither is likely to start given Munar's conservative team selection.
Conclusion
Fecha 34 of the 2026 Primera Nacional closes in Santiago del Estero with a fixture that perfectly encapsulates the beauty and the frustration of Argentina's second tier: two proud clubs, two battered squads, and a head-to-head history that long ago stopped producing goals. GĂŒemes will want to give their suffering supporters something to cheer in the final home match of a campaign they will want to forget, but wanting and achieving are different things against the most defensively disciplined away side they have faced all season. Almagro, for their part, owe their survival to exactly the brand of football they will bring to the Jiya Miranda â patience, structure, and zero risk.
Our prediction is Club A. Guemes 0-0 Almagro. The draw at 2.90 is our best pick, under 2.5 goals at 1.62 anchors the safer markets, and the 0-0 correct score at 6.50 is the standout value play on the entire weekend card in this division. If you are building a wider slip for the round, pair this selection with angles from our double chance predictions and live scores pages to track how the action unfolds in real time.
Whatever happens, expect a chess match rather than a spectacle â and remember that in the Primera Nacional, the most boring prediction is very often the correct one. For more previews across South American football and beyond, explore our guide to avoiding common football betting mistakes before placing your wagers, and always bet within your means.
