Boca Juniors face River Plate in the first leg of the Libertadores Cup semi-final on Tuesday, amid hopes that the upcoming summit will have positive effects in Argentina, less than a year after inappropriate scenes in the final between the two rivals.
All 70,000 tickets for the first leg at the Monumental stadium, River stronghold, which last November saw fans attacked the Boca bus, shattering windows and spraying spray, ran out of hospital.
The attack caused Argentine authorities to cancel the match after police said they could not guarantee the safety of fans and players.
The match was finally decided two weeks later in Madrid, where River beat 3-1 to secure their fourth Libertadores title.
These events have tarnished Argentina's reputation, so officials are being cautious to ensure that this is not repeated with expectations of more than 1,000 police to secure the match in the Argentine capital.
Precautionary measures
Nearly two-thirds of Argentina's football fans say they support Boca or River, demonstrating how important this confrontation is in the country.
The two clubs are also taking their own precautionary measures, and Boca uses an unbreakable window bus.
River fans will be removed at least 150 meters from the Boca bus on its way to the stadium.
The two teams met in the Primera Liga early last month for the first time since the Madrid final, and the encounter went smoothly.
The two clubs met in the first leg of the 2015 Libertadores Cup final, and Boca fans attacked River players with pepper spray, their club was eliminated from the competition and River rose to the next round.
Convergence of the technical level
Boca made adjustments to last year's final, with the departure of attacking pair Christian Pavon, Dario Benedetto, defender Lisandro Magayan and Guillermo Barros Skelotto.
Experienced forward Carlos Tevez and captain Carlos Izquierdoz are still on the way, as have Italian midfielder Daniele De Rossi, who surprised the world by joining the Argentine giant from Rome.
Goalkeeper Esteban Andrada set a record in the league several days ago after keeping a clean sheet in 1129 consecutive minutes.
River will miss captain Leonardo Ponzio, as well as attacking midfielder Juan Fernando Quintero, who scored in the final last year, but coach Marcelo Gallardo remains in office and hopes to win his third Libertadores title in five years.
Boca lead the Argentine championship, unbeaten in eight games, while River are four points behind and seventh.