Instituto de Córdoba is alone at the top of Zone A and close to securing a Clausura playoff place, while Boca Juniors, unbeaten in 16 matches, is the form team of a tournament with five rounds still to play after this weekend's Fecha 11.
Instituto's lead is the clearest story in Zone A. It sits on 25 points, four clear of second-placed Defensa y Justicia, which has climbed on the back of a run of wins and now has its eye on an international place in the annual table. Boca, third in the zone with 20 points, has taken 13 of the last 15 available points and has not lost since its Copa Sudamericana defeat to O'Higgins. San Lorenzo, beaten 3-0 by Defensa, is 10th in the zone on 11 points, outside the playoff places, and 20th in the annual table, with no route to a cup spot.
Boca's streak matters well beyond the zone. It is second in the annual table on 50 points, level with Argentinos Juniors and two behind leader Independiente Rivadavia, and it faces Banfield in a Copa Argentina semifinal. The annual table, which combines the Apertura and Clausura, decides most of Argentina's 2027 Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana places, and Vélez (48 points) can pass Boca and Argentinos if it beats Platense on Monday.
Zone B is more crowded. Argentinos leads after its win over Tigre, with Belgrano second. Belgrano, the Apertura champion, has already secured a Libertadores place for 2027. Huracán is third on 19 points, unbeaten in seven games with four straight wins, and now talks openly of the Sudamericana.
Racing Club is the week's other storyline. Juan Pablo Vojvoda was dismissed on September 28 after Racing blew a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 Copa Argentina quarterfinal loss to Boca, leaving him with four wins, two draws and seven defeats in 13 matches. Sebastián "Chirola" Romero, who ran the reserve team, and Luciano Aued are in charge as interim coaches until December. Racing won on Sunday, its second straight league win, and sits 12th in Zone B on 11 points, four behind the last playoff place.
River Plate has not played a league match since its September 19 loss to Huracán, after the club asked the Argentine Football Association (AFA) to postpone its round against Sarmiento de Junín because several players were called up by the national team. It has five defeats and four wins in the Clausura, is outside the playoff places and is eighth in the annual table on 42 points, with Estudiantes de La Plata (41) able to pass it on Monday. River hosts Estudiantes de Río Cuarto on Saturday, October 10, then plays the postponed Sarmiento match on Wednesday, October 14.
That Saturday fixture is also the relegation story. Estudiantes de Río Cuarto, with only two wins in 2026, is last in the annual table, the semester table and the three-year averages, and Aldosivi, 29th in the annual table, is the other club currently going down. One club drops through the three-year averages and another through the annual table. Banfield, Sarmiento and Deportivo Riestra have little room to relax. Aldosivi hosts Sarmiento on Friday, October 9.