Argentina Liga Profesional de Futbol Futures (Apertura Playoffs 2025 Season)
The first phase of the season for the Argentina Liga Profesional de Futbol ended on May 4 and now the league will be entering into their playoffs. The league was split into 2 groups of 15 teams each for this first phase of the season and the top 8 teams from each of those 2 groups will compete against each other to see who lifts the title for this part of the season. With the first round of the playoffs starting on May 10, it is time to see who has the best chance at making a deep run and winning it all. To Win Outright River Plate +400: River Plate is coming into these playoffs as the team with the best chance at lifting the title, according to the oddsmakers. They finished in 2nd place of their group with 31 points from an 8-7-1 record and they had one of the better goal differentials in the league at +12, scoring 21 goals and allowing 9 goals in their 16 matches. River Plate is always a big threat as they are one of the bigger clubs in Argentina and have the money to spend to keep this team at an elite level all the time. They have not been as dominant in recent years though and this is another season that they were not exactly running away with the league. They still finished 4 points behind the leaders of their own group and they drew a lot of games that they should not have dropped points in. They have the potential to be so much more than what they have been, but they are not going to be fully focused on these playoffs as they will also have to worry about midweek Copa Libertadores matches taking their attention away. They could also run into some trouble in the next round as they have a very strong path to get through in these playoffs. River Plate does have the quality to win it all, but they have not really shown it in the league yet and there are better options to go with considering how River Plate is the favorite. There are better options to go with than taking River Plate at this price. Argentinos Juniors +500: Argentinos Juniors is coming into these playoffs as the next team with the best chance at lifting the title, according to the oddsmakers. Argentinos Juniors finished at the top of their group with 33 points from a 9-6-1 record and a +15 goal differential, scoring 24 goals and allowing 9 goals in their 16 matches. They have been heating up in their recent matches toward the end of the season and they have been scoring a lot more goals in these matches compared to the beginning of the season. They have also been keeping a lot of clean sheets in recent matches and that is going to help them make a deep run in these playoffs. Argentinos Juniors is the most sound team on both sides of the ball as they scored the 2nd most goals in the whole league and they allowed the 3rd fewest, finishing with the best GD in the whole league though. They also have some experience from last year’s Copa de la Liga as they dominated their group that season and made a bit of a run in the playoffs before losing to Velez Sarsfield in the Semi Finals. They did not lose any matches though as their loss to Velez came in penalties, and they only have the 1 loss this season as well. They are also a very unique team as they are very tough to score on and can win matches defensively, but they also know how to come from behind and can score goals if they need to dig themselves out of a hole. They have a very good path in the playoffs as well, not really facing a team that is going to challenge them until the Semi Finals, and that puts them in a great position to get through the first 2 rounds with ease and make a deep run. There is a lot of value in Argentinos Juniors at this price. Boca Juniors +500: Boca Juniors is coming into these playoffs as the next team with the best chance at lifting the title, according to the oddsmakers. Boca Juniors finished in 2nd place of their group with 33 points from a 10-3-3 record and they had a +13 goal differential, scoring 24 goals and allowing 11 goals in their 16 matches. Boca did not finish the season playing in the greatest form, but they have been a very tough team to score on all season and that is going to make them a threat in these playoffs. They have the defense to drag out a lot of matches if they are struggling to score so it is very rare that they will have to play from behind, but they also had the 2nd best attack in the whole league this season and they can score goals when they need to. They are also one of the bigger clubs in Argentina so they always have the quality to stay competitive as an elite team in this league and they also have a large following that will make their home matches in these playoffs electric. Boca Juniors has not won a league trophy in a while so they are going to have the motivation in this competition and they also have the advantage of not being in Copa Libertadores or Copa Sudamericana so they do not have any other matches to worry about and will be fully focused on these matches. The winner of this competition also gets an automatic spot in Copa Libertadores next year so that is going to mean a lot more for a big club like Boca who failed to get through the Copa Libertadores qualification rounds this year. Boca has the quality as well as the depth to make a deep run in these playoffs, and they also have a nice path to the final where they are not going to face any teams that are more dominant than they are. There is a lot of value in Boca Juniors at this price. Rosario Central +500: Rosario Central is coming into these playoffs as the next team with the best chance at lifting the title, according to the oddsmakers. Rosario Central finished at the top of their group with 35 points from a 10-5-1 record and they had a +14 goal differential, scoring 22 goals and allowing 8 goals in their 16 matches. They had the best overall record for the whole league and they also had the best defense, averaging just 0.5 goals allowed per game this season. They may have dominated the league this season with only 1 loss in their 16 matches, but they are not a serious threat to make a deep run in these playoffs. They were much better at home this season which is going to help them a lot in these playoffs, but they do not have an easy path either. They have a very tough match right away as they are facing Estudiantes in the 1st round and Estudinates may have finished in 8th place in their group, but they are certainly not an 8th place quality team. They may not be consistent enough to win this whole thing, but they are a team with a lot of quality in their squad that can do some damage in these playoffs and mess up someone's season even if they do not win it themselves. Even if they get past the 1st round, there are some other quality teams on their side of the bracket that could pose a big threat deeper in the competition. Rosario Central dominated the league in this first phase of the season, but there are better teams in the league and they will eventually run into a team that trips them up. There is no real value in Rosario Central at this price. RecommendationThere are plenty of teams who have chances to win this competition, but there can only be 1 winner and winning matches during the league season is very different from winning matches in these types of situations. There are only a handful of teams who actually have the quality to win these types of matches when it matters most, and those teams are going to show up now despite how well or how poorly they did during the season. Argentinos Juniors at +500 has a lot of value as they were one of the stronger teams in the league all season, but they also have the quality both offensively and defensively to make a deep run against other teams with similar quality. Boca Juniors at +500 also has a lot of value as they did very well during the season, also with a very good attack and defense, and they have the motivation to push hard in this competition as well. Argentinos Juniors at +500 and Boca Juniors at +500 are the 2 best options to go with in these playoffs and with the way the bracket is set, there is a good chance that these two meet in the Final.
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