Preview: Cerro Porteno vs. Atletico Mineiro - prediction, team news, lineups

The top two in Group H of the Copa Libertadores meet on Wednesday night as Cerro Porteno host Atletico Mineiro at the Estadio General Pablo Rojas in Paraguay.

The away side are top of the group and have already secured a place in the last 16 of the tournament; however if the home side wins this week, they too will book their place in the knockouts.

Match preview

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Cerro Porteno are currently in a good position to qualify from the group after recording a vital win against Deportivo La Guaira last Wednesday evening, which puts them on seven points from their first four games.

A first-half penalty scored by Argentine midfielder Claudio Aquino was enough to split the sides last week and creates a gap of four points between El Ciclon and Los Naranjas, meaning a win for the home side on Wednesday will be enough to progress through the group.

Francisco Arce's side came into the game after a disappointing 1-1 draw in the Paraguayan Primera Division against bottom-of-the-league River Plate, yet they will take positives from showing character and desire as they scored a penalty 11 minutes into injury time.

That draw puts them into second place in the league with two games to play, yet Olimpia and Nacional can both overtake Cerro Porteno if they both win their game in hand.

Meanwhile, the visitors' domestic league - the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A - begins at the end of May, but they are currently competing in the regional tournament Mineiro 1.

Atletico Mineiro are through to the final of the tournament, in which they registered a goalless draw in the first leg away to America Mineiro on Sunday and will compete in the second leg next Saturday.

Cuca will be aiming to win his second Copa Libertadores title after being in charge of the club during their successful winning 2013 campaign.

His side have started the tournament positively with three wins and a draw which means they are already through to the last 16, but they will be aiming to win on Wednesday to confirm top spot in the group.

The Brazilian team cruised to a victory on their home patch in the first meeting in the group stages between the two sides, winning 4-0, although those are the only goals Cerro Porteno have conceded after keeping clean sheets against the other two teams in the group.

Team News

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Throughout the tournament, the home side have often fielded a much changed lineup to the one starting in the league; only Robert Morales started on the weekend against River Plate from the side that beat Deportivo La Guaira on Wednesday.

Francisco Arce will likely revert back to his usual lineup for the Copa Libertadores, with Sao Paulo loanee Jean going back into goal and seeking his fourth clean sheet out of five in the tournament.

Alternatively, with qualification to the knockouts wrapped up for the visitors, Cuca may rest a few players ahead of Atletico Mineiro's second-leg final against their regional rivals on the weekend.

However, Hulk will be set to start as he looks to extend his high scoring run in the group stages with five goals in the first four games, and attempt to overtake Flamengo forward Gabriel Barbosa, who has six goals to his name.

Cerro Porteno possible starting lineup:

Jean; Arzamendia, Duarte, Patino, Espinola; Aquino, Villasanti, Lucena, Gimenez; Carrizo, Morales

Atletico Mineiro possible starting lineup:

Everson; Guga, Rabello, Alonso, Arana; Franco, Jair, Fernandez; Savarino, Hulk, Keno

We say: Cerro Porteno 0-2 Atletico Mineiro

It is difficult to look past the Brazilian side after their dominant performance when these two sides met a few weeks ago.

Cerro Porteno are second in the group thanks to their ability to shut out the other two teams but will certainly need to improve in attack if they want to get anything out of this game.