Round 36 of the Primera Nacional will compress the decisions on zone winners, the final playoff places and the fourth relegation slot into three days. Saturday opens with thirteen matches, nine kicking off at 3pm, but the complete verdict will arrive on Monday. Simultaneous starts are intended to protect sporting integrity when one goal can alter several tables at once.
Ferro enter as Zone A leaders on 65 points and control their destiny: victory away to Acassuso takes them into the final for the first promotion. Godoy Cruz, second on 63, host Almirante Brown and must win while hoping the leaders drop points. If Ferro draw, they retain first place provided the Mendoza side do not collect all three.
Zone B contains more contenders. Tristán Suárez lead the race and host Deportivo Maipú at 3pm; victory guarantees their place in the final. Atlanta receive Midland and Temperley visit Güemes in the same time slot, needing to complete their own tasks while monitoring the leaders' score. Gimnasia de Jujuy, Deportivo Maipú and other qualified teams are also fighting for playoff seeding.
The opening block also features Godoy Cruz-Almirante Brown, San Miguel-Deportivo Madryn, San Telmo-Central Norte, Agropecuario-Almagro and San Martín de San Juan-Gimnasia de Jujuy. Los Andes-Mitre follows at 3.30pm, Morón-Ciudad Bolívar at 4, Chaco For Ever-Racing de Córdoba at 5 and Colón-Defensores de Belgrano at 6. Not every match decides first place, but home advantages and pairings remain at stake.
Sunday continues with San Martín de Tucumán-Colegiales at 6.30pm and Gimnasia y Tiro-Quilmes at 7. Monday then stages the most delicate survival chapter: All Boys-Estudiantes de Buenos Aires at 1pm, Atlético de Rafaela-Patronato at 3 and Chacarita-Nueva Chicago simultaneously. Acassuso, San Miguel and Güemes already have their relegations confirmed.
The fourth relegation scenarios require attention on two grounds. If Chacarita and Chicago draw and Patronato fail to win, the Paraná club go down. If Chacarita beat Chicago and Patronato win, Nueva Chicago are relegated; if Chicago and Patronato both prevail, Chacarita fall. Survival therefore depends on both each team's performance and information arriving from the other stadium.
The zone winners will play the first-promotion final on Saturday 14 November. Teams missing that match must reorganise quickly for a lengthy playoff whose final is scheduled for 19 December. The last round consequently issues more than one verdict: it separates the clubs taking the shortest route, establishes sporting advantages and determines who retains a place in the division.
