Internacional and Deportivo Tachira lock horns on Wednesday, in the second round of Copa Libertadores group fixtures.
The hosts suffered a defeat to Always Ready in their opening game, while the Venezuelan side started their campaign with a 3-2 win over Olimpia.
Match preview
© Reuters
Internacional kicked off their Copa Libertadores campaign with a disappointing defeat last Tuesday, as they travelled to Bolivia to take on Always Ready.
The hosts dominated the encounter and took a deserved lead early in the second half through Fernando Saucedo, before Carmelo Algaranaz netted a second in added time to seal the result.
Miguel Angel Ramirez's side did bounce back in style in their latest domestic game on Sunday though, as they recorded an eye-catching 5-0 win at home to Esportivo.
Ze Gabriel opened the scoring on the five-minute mark, before goals from Nonato, Yuri Alberto, Rodrigo Dourado and Rodinei capped off an excellent day for the 45-time Campeonato Gaucho champions.
That sealed their second-placed finish in the Campeonato Gaucho, confirming their qualification for the semi-finals.
For now, Ramirez's men will focus on the Copa Libertadores, as they look to bounce back from the opening defeat and put a win on the board to keep their chances of qualification alive.
Their opponents boosted their qualification bid with a 3-2 victory at home to Olimpia last Tuesday.
Ramon Sosa Acosta opened the scoring for the visitors after 14 minutes, but Lucas Emanuel Gomez instantly equalised before Freddy Gondola put Deportivo Tachira ahead on the hour mark.
Ivan Arturo Torres went on to equalise for the Paraguayan side, but Lucas Trejo would restore the hosts' lead with 10 minutes to go, sealing a huge win for Juan Tolisano's side.
However, they suffered a shock defeat in their most recent league outing, as goals from Luis Castro, Yanowsky Reyes, Junior Paredes, Heiderber Ramirez and Elias Zimnavoda condemned them to a 5-0 defeat away at Zulia in the Venezuelan top flight.
While that was an alarming result, Tolisano did rest several key players for that game, firmly placing his priority on Wednesday's Copa Libertadores match, as they look to book their place in the knockout stage.
- L
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
Team News
Miguel Angel Ramirez has rotated his goalkeeping options this season, but he seems to have stuck with Marcelo Lomba now, and he is expected to feature again on Wednesday.
Forward Yuri Alberto will be hoping for a starting spot, having found the net in the recent 5-0 victory.
He will have to battle for a starting place with Thiago Galhardo, who recently netted a hat-trick in a league win over Aimore.
While Deportivo Tachira winger Esli Garcia was shown a red card in the league defeat to Zulia, he will not be suspended for this game, with the ban instead applying to the next domestic match.
Ramirez could look to stick with the same lineup that sealed the 3-2 victory over Olimpia, with Lucas Emanuel Gomez and Edgar Perez Greco expected to lead the line.
Freddy Gondola will offer an attacking threat from the left-hand side, having found the net in that last win.
Internacional possible starting lineup:
Lomba; Da Fonseca, Gabriel, Cuesta, Moises; Dourado, Edenilson; Palacios, Mauricio, Vidal; Galhardo
Deportivo Tachira possible starting lineup:
Varela; Camacho, Trejo, Vivas, Granados; Hernandez, Flores, Cova, Gondola; Gomez, Greco
We say: Internacional 2-1 Deportivo Tachira
Despite the contrasting starts of the two sides, the Brazilian outfit have more than enough to come away from this clash with three crucial points.
A 5-0 win last time out will raise their confidence, and they come into this game knowing a result is required to keep their hopes of qualification alive.
Top tip
Sam Varley
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Internacional win with a probability of 60.11%. A draw had a probability of 23.5% and a win for Deportivo Tachira had a probability of 16.42%.
The most likely scoreline for a Internacional win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.25%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.27%) and 2-1 (9.44%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.97%), while for a Deportivo Tachira win it was 0-1 (6.37%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Internacional would win this match.
