The state of play
On recent evidence, the visitors arrive in slightly better shape. Gimnasia y Esgrima Mendoza have taken 1.7 points per match over their last 10 fixtures, against 1.5 for Estudiantes de La Plata. The margin is narrow, and this Clausura Group A fixture on Matchday 11 looks evenly poised by the table.
Estudiantes have won 4, drawn 3 and lost 3 of those 10 matches, a sequence that reads L-W-W-D-L-D-L-W-W-D. It is a record of steady, if unspectacular, returns: no long losing run, but few extended winning spells either.
Gimnasia Mendoza have won 5, drawn 2 and lost 3, with a sequence of D-L-D-W-W-W-L-W-L-W. Their extra win is the difference between the two sides' points-per-match figures, and it reflects a side that has turned more of its matches into victories.
Kick-off at the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata is at 22:00 UTC on 5 October, with Yael Falcon Perez the referee. No league table positions are available for either club ahead of the fixture.
Head to head
The two sides have met once, and Estudiantes came away with the win. On 18 March, they beat Gimnasia y Esgrima Mendoza 2-1 in Mendoza, a match that produced 3 goals.
One meeting is a thin basis for drawing conclusions, but it does show Estudiantes can find a way past this opponent, and they did so away from home. This time they have the advantage of playing in La Plata.
The numbers behind it
The goal columns tell a similar story to the results. Estudiantes have scored 13 and conceded 8 in their last 10 matches; Gimnasia Mendoza have scored 14 and conceded 9 over the same span.
Both sides, then, have scored more than they have conceded, and both have kept their goals-against figures in single digits. Estudiantes' defence has been marginally the meaner of the two, conceding 8 to the visitors' 9, while Gimnasia have been marginally more productive in attack, with 14 goals to 13.
Those differences are small enough that neither side can claim a clear statistical edge. Gimnasia's better points return rests chiefly on converting more matches into wins rather than on a markedly stronger goal record.
With recent form this close and only one previous meeting to go on, the fixture offers few firm signposts. Football is a high-variance sport, and margins this fine can be settled by a single moment in either penalty area.