Superclasico: River Plate's dreadful run in La Bombonera
Los Millonarios will seek to overturn a historical run of seven defeats and five draws against arch-rivals Boca in La Bombonera on Saturday.
If Copa Libertadores history is any indication, River Plate would have absolutely no chance of beating Boca Juniors in the opening leg of the continental final in Buenos Aires on Saturday (kick-off at 21:00 CET).
The sides have met at La Bombonera in Copa Libertadores fixtures on 12 occasions, with River never having beaten their eternal rivals away in the competition. Of those 12 games, Boca have won seven with the other five ending in draws.
The closest River have come to a Libertadores win in La Boca was in 1991, when Los Millonarios held a 3-1 advantage in the 57th minute, only to eventually lose 4-3.
The two sides have met on 97 occasions in La Bombonera in all competitions, with 45 wins for Boca, 31 draws and 21 River victories. Over the course of those games, Boca have found the net on 137 occasions with River hitting 98.
River recently on top in Superclasico
However, Boca are on a less than encouraging run against River and have failed to beat their arch-rivals in the last four attempts. The most recent triumph for Los Xeneizes came on May 3, 2015, in the Argentine Primera División, goals from Cristian Pavón and Pablo Pérez handing the home side a 2-0 lead.
The first Superclasico in La Bombonera took place on June 30, 1940, a month after the stadium was inaugurated. On that day, Boca won 3-1. It took River eight years and eight attempts to finally beat Boca on their home turf in a 2-1 win in 1948.
