???????????????

Boca have a lively attack, both in terms of quality and quantity, to make up for the probable injury-enforced absence of winger Cristian Pavon. Ramon Wanchope Abila and Dario Benedetto have been in among the goals and have a happy knack of scoring even when Boca are not at their best.

Between them they scored all six of Boca’s goals in the semi-finals and first leg of the final. Offering further options up front are the ever dangerous Mauro Zarate, Colombian wide man Sebastian Villa and talented attacking midfielder Edwin Cardona.

Carlos Tevez, an integral part of the Boca attack, is at his sharpest since his return from Chinese football at the start of the year.

“This is the biggest final of my career,” he said, indicating that the rivalry with River weighs more than any of the 24 titles he has won.

Now 34, he has accepted that his days of playing every game are over, though he still made his mark in a 20-minute appearance in the first leg, creating Boca’s best chance of the second half. Pavon’s absence may mean a start for Tevez at the Monumental, but if he is on the bench, he would make for the perfect impact substitute.

Boca's away form has been impressive across the campaign. Unbeaten in their six away games so far (three in the group phase and three in the knockout phase), they have won one, drawn five and scored nine goals in the process.

What is more, they are undefeated in three visits to the Monumental since Guillermo Barros Schelotto took over as coach, winning twice and drawing once.

River Plate head into the showdown without several key players, among them forwards Ignacio Scocco and Rafael Santos Borre, while Rodrigo Mora has only just returned from injury.

It remains to be seen if Marcelo Gallardo will play two strikers up front or deploy Lucas Pratto as a lone spearhead. As the River coach has shown on previous occasions, however, he has a gift for coming up with tactical solutions to the problems posed by a relatively small squad.

Gallardo is suspended and will be absent from the bench, just as he was in the first leg at La Bombonera, when his team responded with a gutsy display, a feature of his tenure so far.

Having won the Libertadores under Gallardo in 2015, the River line-up boasts several players who know what it means to lift the trophy. Mora, Jonatan Maidana, Leonardo Ponzio, Gonzalo Pity Martinez and Camilo Mayada all formed part of that Copa-winning side, while Enzo Perez won it with Estudiantes in 2009 and Franco Armani did likewise with Atletico Nacional in 2016.

Boca have four former winners in their ranks: Tevez (in 2003), Emmanuel Mas and Julio Buffarini, who helped San Lorenzo claim the trophy in 2014, and coach Barros Schelotto, a four-time Copa champion in his playing days, in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007.

With Armani in goal, Maidana and Javier Pinola in central defence and Ponzio in the midfield holding role, Los Millonarios possess a solid and experienced back-line. In the knockout rounds River have conceded just two goals when those four have all been on the pitch.

Boca’s two goals in the first leg came against a River side shorn of the services of Ponzio, who was sidelined with a muscle strain. The defensive midfielder was also absent when Gremio scored in the second leg of the semi-final, having earlier been substituted.