Racing will host River at the Cilindro de Avellaneda on Sunday, April 12, 2026, when the oldest classic in Argentine football returns for the 14th date of Zona B in the Torneo Apertura 2026.
The matchup carries fresh weight because the two sides met in the Liga Profesional 2022 title decider, a night Racing led Boca in the race before the final round and then watched River leave with a 2-1 win in stoppage time. Fernando Gago coached Racing that day, while Marcelo Gallardo was on River's bench.
That final was decided in the closing moments. Matías Rojas put Racing ahead on a penalty at 9 minutes of the second half, Miguel Borja equalized at 35 minutes, Jonathan Galván had a chance to restore the lead from the spot at 44 minutes, and Franco Armani saved it before Borja scored again in stoppage time to seal River's comeback.
The recent meetings only sharpen the sense of history around this fixture. River and Racing also met in the Supercopa Argentina 2019 final, played in March 2021 in Santiago del Estero after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed it back and turned it into the first official match at the Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades. River won that game 5-0, the biggest victory in the history of the Supercopa Argentina, with Rafael Borré opening the scoring at 31 minutes of the first half, Julián Álvarez striking two minutes after replacing him and again at 24 minutes of the second half, and Nicolás de la Cruz, Leonel Miranda and Matías Suárez completing the rout.
There is also an older memory in Avellaneda. In the Torneo de Transición 2014, Racing beat River at home while chasing the top of the table, and the result helped push it toward a title after 13 years without local trophies. River used a rotated lineup because it was also facing Boca in one of the Copa Sudamericana semifinals.
That history is why Sunday's match is more than another league date. Racing and River do not merely bring points into the Cilindro; they bring the weight of a rivalry that has swung from Racing's breakthrough in 2014 to River's 5-0 blowout in the Supercopa and the stoppage-time sting of 2022.
