Atletico de Rafaela
- Saturday’s Primera Nacional season opener between Atletico de Rafaela and Almagro should be a cagey and competitive game at the Estadio Nuevo Monumental, with Rafaela’s home form and promotion momentum making them a tough prospect.
- There is no doubt that Rafaela are in the best form of the two sides, having finished 2025 unbeaten after their run through the Reválida that earned them promotion to the 2026 Primera Nacional.
- Rafaela won their last four competitive games and kept three shutouts in their last four matches.
- Iván Juárez’s men were solid and disciplined in their promotion campaign and their blueprint for success was quite pragmatic with an emphasis on solidity and not giving the ball away.
- Facundo Soloa is the star of the team after the midfielder scored the winning goal in their playoff for promotion, but also sets the tempo in midfield with his tireless energy and composure on the ball.
Almagro
- Almagro finished their 2025 campaign in mid-table after an inconsistent run of results to finish the year.
- The summer has been a busy period for the club with a reshuffling of the squad and a need for players to gel under new management.
- Mayco Bergia is a shot stopper that will need to be at his best for Rafaela to have any chance of keeping Almagro at bay on Saturday.
- Gomez’s team are equally compact, but with more of an emphasis on the wide areas, and are set up to play a 4-4-2 system that gets men behind the ball in numbers, with selective pressing triggers and swift transition play down the wings.
- Axel Rodríguez is the most advanced threat to Rafaela’s goal with his mobility and eye for goal making him a good finisher and he was Almagro’s leading scorer with five goals in 2025.
- Patricio Cucchi is another handful for the visitors with his physical presence and knack of scoring important goals.
- Tomas Castro Ponce is the orchestrator, however, and will have plenty of work to do to create chances for his strikers from the midfield.
Head-to-Head
Four of the last five Primera Nacional matchups between these clubs have been settled by a single goal, with Almagro edging out Rafaela 1-0 in March 2024 and then winning 3-2 away from home in August of that same year.
Key Players
- Facundo Soloa - scored the winning goal in Rafaela’s promotion playoff and sets the tempo in midfield with tireless energy and composure.
- Lucas Albertengo - experienced attacker who brings leadership to the top end of the pitch.
- Mayco Bergia - shot stopper who will need to be at his best for Almagro.
- Axel Rodríguez - Almagro’s leading scorer in 2025 with five goals and a mobile finishing threat.
- Patricio Cucchi - physical forward with a knack for scoring important goals.
Betting Insights
The bookies make Rafaela favorites at 2.15 , with Almagro available at 4.53 and the draw at 2.42 .
Prediction
- Rafaela finished 2025 strongly and their home form is excellent, so we are taking them to squeak out a win in this game, but Almagro will make them work for it and the tie is very possible with both sides prioritising structure over high press.
- Under 2.5 goals is heavily favored at 1.27, so there is little value there, but we will take the Under as the primary bet in this fixture.
- Three of Rafaela’s last four wins came by 1-0 scorelines and we can see a repeat here, although this could go either way as both teams have disciplined backlines and Rafaela will face a lively home crowd in the opening match of the season.
