Preview: Estudiantes vs Independiente Medellin - prediction, team news, lineups

In the final round of games of the Copa Libertadores group stage, Estudiantes and Independiente Medellin will do battle on Wednesday with a round-of-16 place on the line.

The visitors currently sit in second spot but only lead their hosts by one point, with third place granting entry into the Copa Sudamericana.

Match preview

Estudiantes head into action on Wednesday aiming to leapfrog their visitors and take second spot in group A of the Copa Libertadores to book their place in the final 16.

They earned their place in South America's top competition as champions of the Argentine Liga Profesional Clausura stage and began in April with a 1-1 draw away at Independiente Medellin, having led early against Wednesday's opponents before being pegged back.

A 2-1 win over Cusco and a pair of draws followed, including a creditable 1-1 draw at home to group leaders Flamengo, before heading to Brazil for the reverse fixture last week on the back of a domestic defeat to Racing Club, ending their Liga Profesional Apertura bid.

Alexander Medina's side were unable to come away from that game with anything, though, leaving empty-handed for the first time in the group stage as Pedro scored the only goal in the 65th minute.

Now sitting one point behind second place and guaranteed at least third spot which would at least see them drop into the Copa Sudamericana, Estudiantes will now bid to crack the top-two and book their final-16 place with a home win.

Their visitors meanwhile, make the trip to Argentina needing a draw or win to maintain their position in second spot and punch their own ticket to the Copa Libertadores knockout stage.

Independiente Medellin earned a Copa Libertadores qualifying spot with a second-placed finish in the Colombian top flight and advanced to the continental group stage for the first time since 2023 by getting past Liverpool and Juventud.

Their group campaign then began with the draw against Estudiantes, before El Rojo Paisa lost to Flamengo, beat Cusco and saw their reverse fixture at home to Flamengo abandoned due to fan protests with the three points awarded to the visitors.

Then on the back of a Copa Colombia win over Fortaleza and a draw with Orsomarso, they visited Cusco last week and delivered a crucial 3-2 victory having led though Francisco Fydriszewski and gone into injury time level, going back ahead through Baldomero Perlaza and being pegged back in the 94th minute before Alexis Serna snatched the points four minutes later.

They will now aim to carry that momentum into Wednesday's trip, knowing they must avoid defeat under caretaker manager to stay second and advance to the round of 16.

Estudiantes Copa Libertadores form:

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Estudiantes form (all competitions):

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Independiente Medellin Copa Libertadores form:

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Independiente Medellin form (all competitions):

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Team News

Estudiantes remain unable to call on Santiago Arzamedia due to an ongoing injury, while Tiago Palacios and Tomas Palacios will serve suspensions having each reached three group-stage yellow cards.

Given those absences, Edwuin Cetre may come into the attacking setup of their 4-2-3-1 setup, with Guido Carrillo hoping to continue to lead the line.

Elsewhere, Gaston Benedetti may fill the gap on the left-hand side of the back four, while Santiago Nunez should again partner mainstay Leandro Gonzalez Pirez in the middle of the defence.

Independiente Medellin are without the injured trip of Kevin Mantilla, Enzo Larrosa and Leider Berrio on Wednesday.

Didier Moreno is a fresh doubt having been forced off last week, but he may be deemed fit to start in midfield alongside Halam Loboa.

Yony Gonzalez and Daniel Catano should continue on the wings in a front three in support of danger man Francisco Fydriszewski, who has scored four Copa Libertadores goals this season and four in his last seven games in all competitions.

Estudiantes possible starting lineup:

Muslera; Meza, Nunez, Gonzalez Pirez, Benedetti; Castro, Piovi; Cetre, Amondarain, Aguirre; Carrillo

Independiente Medellin possible starting lineup:

Chaux; Chaverra, Ortiz, Londono; Mena Perea, Loboa, Moreno, Fabra; Gonzalez, Fydriszewski, Catano

We say: Estudiantes 1-1 Independiente Medellin

Wednesday's game promises to be an intriguing one with a round-of-16 spot going to the winner, and in what should be an evenly-matches affair, we see the visitors having enough to stay in front with another draw, given the hosts have only managed one group-stage victory this term.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.