The hopes of a third successive Copa Libertadores title for Palmeiras will hang in the balance when the two-time reigning champions welcome Athletico Paranaense to Allianz Parque on Tuesday for the second leg of that semi-final encounter.
In the opening leg last week, a conservative affair went the way of El Paranaense, who handed Verdao their first defeat of the 2022 competition, 1-0.
Match preview
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A tight opening match in Curitiba on Tuesday went against the visitors, who, despite having the bulk of the possession and a man advantage for the final 20 minutes, could not find a way through the Furacao backline.
Their narrow victory in the quarter-finals versus Atletico Mineiro came at a cost as Abel Ferreira was without two of his star midfielders through suspension last week, and his team lacked creativity and solid movement throughout that encounter.
It was the second time this year that Palmeiras had failed to find the back of the net against the 2021 Copa Sudamericana champions and the second consecutive match at this competition where they were held scoreless in normal time.
To keep the dream of a third consecutive Libertadores title alive, Palestra will have to do something which has not been done in the semi-finals of this competition since 2018, reverse a first-leg deficit to advance to the final.
Facing a deficit heading into a deciding fixture in this competition is a foreign feeling for this club, especially this late into the tournament as Verdao have only trailed going into the second leg of a Libertadores semi-final tie on two occasions in the past 22 years (2000 and 2018), advancing once, in 2000 versus Corinthians in a penalty shootout.
They may not be used to playing from behind in a cup tie, but this team have shown an ability to bounce back from a losing position in matches this season, coming back to draw their last three games played in all competitions when conceding the opening goal, including this past weekend when they were 2-0 down at Bragantino in league play, but wound up drawing 2-2.
In the Recopa Sudamericana final against Paranaense earlier this year, they came back from a pair of one-goal deficits in the first leg before shutting out the visitors 2-0 in the deciding game in Sao Paulo, so there are plenty of recent comebacks for this team to draw upon.
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Heading into the deciding fixture of this tie, Luiz Felipe Scolari is on the verge of making another trip to the final of this competition.
The former Palestra boss saw his players perform well under challenging circumstances, scoring on their only effort on target last week against the current Brasileiro Serie A leaders, while rarely facing a quality scoring chance from their opponents.
Over the past two months, Paranaense are the only club who have beaten Palmeiras in a competitive fixture while also being the last team to beat them on their home field after 90 minutes, winning 2-0 at Allianz Parque in a domestic encounter back in early July.
Since dropping a 5-0 decision domestically to Flamengo in the middle of August, they have been a lot sharper defensively, allowing a goal or fewer in their last five competitive fixtures, posting three successive clean sheets in all competitions after blanking Fluminense 1-0 on Saturday.
In what is their sixth appearance at the knockout stage of this tournament, Furacao have never lost a tie when leading after the opening leg.
A win or a draw would be enough to send them into the Copa Libertadores final for the second time in their history and the first in 17 years, when they lost a two-leg affair, 5-1 on aggregate against Sao Paulo.
Athletico have only suffered one defeat in their previous 12 knockout stage matches in CONMEBOL club competitions, losing 1-0 versus LDU Quito in the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana last year, but still winning the tie 4-3, eventually hoisting the trophy for a second time.
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Team News
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Rafael Navarro, who has seven goals for Palmeiras in this year's competition, has not found the back of the net since matchday four, while Rony, who also has seven tallies, has not scored at the Libertadores since notching a brace in a 5-0 win over Cerro Porteno.
An own goal from goalkeeper Cleiton and the first of the domestic campaign from Miguel Merentiel enabled Palestra to come back and draw Braga 2-2 this weekend with Luan collecting an assist, while Wesley leads the way for them with three helpers at this competition.
Danilo and Gustavo Scarpa missed the opening leg of this tie through suspension, and the 21-year-old midfielder, who is also suspended for this encounter, had the insurance goal in their 2-0 triumph over Athletico at the Recopa Sudamericana with the other tally coming from Ze Rafael, while Weverton made one save for the shutout.
Alex Santana scored the only goal the last time these teams met, his first of the tournament for El Paranaense, and Bento collected his third successive clean sheet at this competition.
Pablo, who is tied with Christian for the team lead in goals so far at this tournament (two), had their only tally in a 1-0 triumph domestically on Saturday versus Fluminense as Tomas Cuello assisted, while David Terans and Abner are tied for the most assists for Athletico in this tournament with two each.
Christian is not expected to be available on Tuesday because of a knee injury, and Marcelo Cirino is gone for the season with a torn ACL.
Marlos has a calf injury, and Hugo Moura will be suspended after receiving a pair of cautions in the opening game of this tie last week.
Palmeiras possible starting lineup:
Weverton; Piquerez, Murilo, Gomez, Rocha; Ze Rafael, Atuesta; Rony, Veiga, Wesley; Merentiel
Athletico Paranaense possible starting lineup:
Bento; Khellven, Henrique, Heleno, Abner; Fernandinho, Cittadini, Santana; Terans, Roque, Vitinho
We say: Palmeiras 0-0 Athletico Paranaense (Athletico Paranaense advances 1-0 on aggregate)
All good things must come to an end, and while both teams will be without some key components to their midfield, Furacao have masterfully done what few clubs have been able to do this season - keep the mighty Palmeiras at bay.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
