Biggest derby in the world? River Plate vs Boca Juniors preview & key players

The Superclásico is unquestionably one of the fiercest rivalries in football and the latest installment of the Buenos Aires derby takes place on Sunday. River Plate and Boca Juniors are the two biggest clubs in Argentina and the capital comes to a standstill when the two giants clash. The rivalry between the two clubs was established early in the 20th century and this will be the 184th meeting between the sides with plenty on the line.

The Torneo Apertura is a complicated competition with 30 clubs split into two leagues of 15, where they all play each other plus two games against their rivals in the opposing league, before a play-off system. Boca sit fourth in their section with 21 points from 13 games, while River are second in their section with 26 points. The meeting at River’s Estadio Monumental is the first of 2026 and to provide a detailed lowdown ahead of the Superclásico, we’ve spoken to Scott Christensen, Transfemarkt’s Argentinian expert.

River Plate: Analysis & key players

River had a shocking 2025 under Marcelo Gallardo. He was a huge idol of the club as he's won everything as a coach - he even has a statue at the doors of the Monumental - but he couldn't change the negative tendency at the beginning of 2026. Their paths set apart, Eduardo Coudet came in and things have changed completely as they've never lost since then. The team is now playing very well, with intensity and being offensive. Many players that were in bad form before his arrival have improved considerably.

Santiago Beltrán is a young GK that started playing due to Franco Armani's injury and turned out to be really reliable, making it a hard call for the coach once the usual starter and club legend is available to play. The experienced full-backs Marcos Acuña and Gonzalo Montiel know exactly how to play these kinds of games. Sebastián Driussi is in really good form and has already scored against Boca more than once.

Boca Juniors: Analysis & key players

Boca are currently undefeated in 12 games. They've also had turbulent times at the end of 2025 and early 2026 and it seemed the coach Claudio Úbeda wasn't going to last long, but he's managed to change the course of his team. Ubeda has utilised a consistent starting XI and they seem confident and are in great form.

Left-back Lautaro Blanco is one of Boca’s best offensive weapons, Leandro Paredes controls the tempo of the team. Tomás Aranda is a massive talent and he’s made a huge impact just months after making his debut, while Adam Bareiro - ex-River player - has enjoyed a big impact on Boca's style and positive streak.

Is Super Classico the biggest rivalry in football?

I believe it is. I mean the game doesn't have the 'perfect' quality of 'El Clásico' for example, but for us in Argentina it's much more than a game. Boca and River have played international competitions this week and a derby against one of the 'Big 5' each (Independiente and Racing respectively), but everyone keeps talking about the Superclásico that's not played until Sunday.

The result of this game many times ends in fired coaches, players left out of the squad, incidents, etc. So every player knows it's THE game of the year, the one they can't afford to lose; so as usual it's going to be an aggressive game, with tension and players leaving all they've got on the pitch.

As you know Argentine fans are very passionate, and this game is the perfect example of what happens here in our stadiums. Unfortunately, for more than 10 years away fans have not been allowed due to constant incidents, there will only be River Plate fans, so away teams in Argentina are basically on their own against a whole stadium chanting against them which in the same cases motivates them, while in others it pulls them back.