With a new loss, that of Fernando Uribe due to injury, Millonarios will go out tonight looking for a victory against Tolima, which will allow them to reach the top of the BetPlay League standings.
The blues come into the game with 17 units, three less than América and have the advantage that they still have another match to play to catch up with the rented tournament schedule.
The Ibaguereños, for their part, who did not have a good start to the tournament, have gradually been recovering and are already ninth with 13 points out of 27 possible.
The protagonists will jump onto the Murillo Toro lawn motivated by their victories on the classics date against Huila and Santa Fe.
A victory will represent the guiding cast for Hernán Torres to finish calming the waters and climb up the standings to the sixth box, which will allow him to dream of qualifying for a final again, after failing to do so in the previous contest .
Today’s duel makes it even more complicated because of the knowledge that the two coaches have, although for Millonarios it represents a greater demand due to the number of players they have injured and to whom Oscar Cortés (who scored yesterday with the Sub-20) added, Álvaro Montero (with the seniors) and Juan Pablo Vargas (with Costa Rica).
For tonight’s game, coach Alberto Gamero was left without a center forward. Luis Carlos Ruiz just resumed field work, Leonardo Castro is in the recovery stage and Fernando Uribe has a minimum of two weeks.
Coupled with this, Jader Valencia, who officiates through the center or as a winger, is not there either, so Gamero will have to defend himself with Brochero, who comes from the lower divisions, or Paredes, who is also a youth player.
Thus, the probable formation of the blues would be with Juan Moreno in goal, Elvis Perlaza, Andrés Llinás, Jorge Arias and Samuel Asprilla in the rear.
Larry Vásquez, Juan Carlos Pereira and Daniel Giraldo would repeat in the core sector, while David Silva and Daniel Cataño would once again fulfill the role of hook, but moving along the sides to prevent the rival full-backs from attacking.
Upstairs we will have to wait and see if Gamero brings out another homegrown player or if he decides on Brochero, Paredes, Asprilla or Guerra.
Tolima, who experienced a situation similar to that of Millonarios due to the number of injured players, has gradually been stabilizing its roster, with Cuesta in goal, the central pair with Cuenú and Quiñones, a midfield led by Guzmán.
Coach Torres has two full-backs who are very good at attacking, especially Junior Hernández, on whom Millonarios will have to keep a strict watch, plus two players who went through the blue club, the Venezuelan midfielder Eduardo Sosa and the attacker Diego Herazo, who was the great figure in the victory over Huila.
For the sky-blues, Cataño, who was expelled after being attacked by a Tolima fan -which forced the suspension of the game-, already paid the three sanction dates that were imposed on him and that is why today he can be from the game.
It is expected that the security measures will be strict and that unfortunate events such as the blow to which the Millonarios player was subjected will not occur.
A victory will allow the Blues to jump from box four to the first (they would be the leader for having played one game less than América, while if the victory is for the locals, they will reach 16 points and be sixth. The tie will leave the celestial third and the ‘Pijaos’ eighth, to the detriment of Santa Fe, which today occupies that box.