Boca Juniors v River Plate: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Buenos Aires will come to a standstill on Saturday night when Boca Juniors and River Plate clash at La Bombonera in one of the biggest and fiercest derbies in world football.

The stakes look lower than usual with neither side threatening to win the Primera Division, but that doesn't mean there won't be drama and fireworks aplenty between these most bitter of rivals.

Boca Juniors v River Plate betting tips and predictions

Draw - 7/4

The Superclasico is one of the great derbies in world football, but this one comes at an unfortunate time for River Plate.

They head for La Bombonera in better form than Boca, but the fixture falls right in the middle of both legs of their Copa Libertadores quarter-final against Chilean big-hitters Colo Colo.

And three days after drawing an intense first leg in Santiago 1-1, that isn't much of a turnaround for River.

It will be tense, it should be fiery, it's odds-on there will be more cards than goals and the clever money may just be on the draw.

It certainly doesn't look as though this fixture will have a bearing on the destiny of the 2024 title unless leaders Velez Sarsfield go into meltdown over the second half of the campaign.

Boca and River go into this showdown in tenth and ninth places respectively and need to turn draws into wins if they are to mount a challenge to Velez and the rest.

There has been enough of a revival at River under the returning Marcelo Gallardo to suggest they could spring an autumn offensive, but it may well have to start after they have played their second leg against Colo Colo on Wednesday.

Gallardo, a Copa Libertadores winner with River Plate as both player and coach, has overseen eight games since replacing Martin Demichelis and they have won three of the eight, drawn the other five and conceded only five goals.

They are drawing far too many and 20-goal Miguel Borja is one of several players crying out for a break.

River will have had just two training sessions post-Santiago and that's not much preparation time for such an important meeting.

Boca should be delighted at the schedule - they have had a week since their last match, a 2-1 loss at Racing Club.

They had been in decent form before exiting the Copa Sudamericana at the hands of Brazil's Cruzeiro last month and it seems manager Diego Martinez is constantly under pressure.

Drama is assured but not necessarily a clear-cut victor in a match which looks too close to call.

Under 9.5 Cards - 8/11

If you needed any sense of just how bitter this fixture is, look no further than the two-way cards market - it is set at 9.5.

When overs backers need 10 cards to be shown to land a bet, you know you are looking at a unique fixture.

And if you think 9.5 is too high, bear in mind their last meeting in April, a cup tie Boca won 3-2 in neutral Cordoba, saw 11 cards flashed.

Meanwhile, it is only 18 months since a 1-0 win for River Plate at the Monumental, a match which produced nine yellow cards and six reds.

With River's minds arguably elsewhere and Martinez under pressure and demanding focus, it's entirely possible this Superclasico won't be like some of the bloodbaths of old and that under 9.5 at 8/11 is still the way to go.

Cristian Lema Over 0.5 Shots on Target - 2/1

Boca centre-back Cristian Lema once scored eight league goals in a single campaign for Primera rivals Belgrano.

The 32-year-old won't reach those dizzy heights again - he has bagged one goal this season - but he is a threat at set-plays and it will be Boca doing the pressing.

River had under 40 per cent possession at Colo Colo this week and will be trying to play on the counter at La Bombonera.

Boca will carve out chances and Lema looks fair value at 2/1 to get one effort on target.

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Boca Juniors v River Plate odds

Boca Juniors - 17/10
Draw - 7/4
River Plate - 21/10

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.