Torneo TransiciГіn Preview: River to win comfortably but Racing to be crowned champions

Racing are on the brink of a first title in 13 years

It's the final weekend of the Argentine season, and only two games remain. Who will be crowned champions? Ed Malyon talks us through the candidates...

It is so close they can almost taste it.

Racing Club are on the cusp of a national championship and, with a win at home to Godoy Cruz this weekend, they will seal it and add a 17th league title to their trophy cabinet - but that doesn't tell the whole story.

The Academia, one of Argentina's five grandes, have won just two national championships since 1961. In 1966 they triumphed on the run that would take them to being Intercontinental Cup champions - beating Celtic in a controversial final - but then they had to wait a long, painful wait until 2001.

It has been years in the frustrating abyss, including one relegation, but they have been a club capable of extraordinary flux: brilliant squads of players unable to win a game and then motley crews of mercenaries challenging (ultimately unsuccessfully) for titles.

Diego Simeone is now one of the world's most wanted managers but even he could only steer them to second and fans were hardly distraught to see him go.

The transformation at Racing in the last year has been the perfect example of the extremes that the club is capable of, finishing 18th in the 2014 Torneo Final after working their way through 4 managers in the first 11 games of the campaign.

Diego Cocca came in towards the late stages of the season and began a transformation but this is a side that finished 18th and then sold its two brightest young talents to La Liga - so what has changed?

Well, Diego Milito has arrived for a start. And while the Champions League winner won't finish as the division's top scorer, his influence far exceeds simply goals.

'The Prince of Bernal' possesses an experience and class that has, at times, been streets ahead of anything else in the division, most comparable to the level of Juan Sebastian Vern and Juan Romn Riquelme as they saw out their careers in Argentina.

Operating from the front, Milito obviously can't control the game in the same way as the aforementioned pair would in midfield, but whenever the ball arrives at his feet there is a gasp of expectation... And it's rarely unfulfilled.

His strike partnership with Gustavo Bou, indisputably the breakout star of any team this season, has propelled Racing to the top while solidity at the back has come through dependable but not extraordinary defenders who have managed to stay fit and form a consistent unit.

Bou could finish top scorer with a couple of goals on Sunday night against Godoy Cruz, and he will be roared on by a packed-out Cilindro. Fans queued overnight for tickets, and with the visiting Mendocinos having nothing to play for and struggling down in 15th, it's hard to see much chance of that full house going home disappointed. 

Even if they lose, Racing could still be crowned champions if River Plate don't take full points from Quilmes. That is, however, extremely unlikely, with the rock-bottom Brewers facing a buoyant (although possibly tired) River side after Wednesday's Copa Sudamericana win. 

The Millionarios are desperate to make it a double celebration on top of their continental success, but despite a likely comfortable win down in Quilmes, Racing should be trusted to cement a title, and sixth consecutive win, in style.

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