River will receive San Lorenzo on Sunday, May 10, 2026, in the round of 16 of the Torneo Apertura, with Eduardo Coudet already having his 23-player squad in place after the club’s final training session on Saturday. The list includes Fausto Vera and Sebastián Driussi, two key returns for a match that sends one team home.
Vera is back after missing time with a right-knee sprain suffered on April 15 against Carabobo in the Copa Sudamericana. Driussi also returns after recovering from a grade 2 tear in his right hamstring sustained against Boca on April 19. Both had been unavailable in recent weeks, and their presence changes the shape of River’s options for a knockout game at 19.00 hours.
The squad also features several regular starters who did not travel to Venezuela for Thursday’s match against Carabobo, including Gonzalo Montiel, Lautaro Rivero, Marcos Acuña, Tomás Galván and Aníbal Moreno. At the same time, Ulises Gimenez, Juan Cruz Meza, Santiago Lencina, Kevin Castaño, Lautaro Pereyra and Agustín Ruberto were left out compared with that trip, leaving Coudet with a group that looks closer to his preferred lineup for a tournament elimination game.
River’s decision to bring back so many first-choice players underlines how much is riding on Sunday’s meeting. The round of 16 is a straight knockout stage, and the returns of Vera and Driussi come just in time for a fixture that can define the club’s path in the Apertura. Sebastián Zunino will referee the match, with Silvio Trucco in charge of the VAR, and Premium will carry it live.
For River, the immediate question is not whether the squad is short on names but whether the returning players are ready to deliver in one of the season’s most unforgiving settings. If the regular starters hold up and the injured pair can contribute, the home side will go into Sunday with a markedly stronger hand than it had only days ago.
