Racing Club face Sporting Cristal on Tuesday evening knowing that victory could put them on the brink of qualifying for the Copa Libertadores last 16.
While the home side have failed to win any of their opening three games in Group E, the Peruvian side know that maximum points will put them back into the mix.
Match preview
© Reuters
In a group in which Racing are expected to finish in the top two, Juan Antonio Pizzi will have mixed feelings with one win and two draws being collected thus far.
Nevertheless, a goalless draw with Sao Paulo could potentially turn out to be a pivotal result in their bid to reach the knockout stages.
The result also ended a run of six matches in all competitions without keeping a clean sheet, a necessary improvement for a team who have struggled to score goals since the middle of March.
Racing's best results in recent weeks have come at home, and they head into this fixture having gone five away games without recording a win during normal time.
At a time when Racing find themselves down in seventh position in Argentina's top flight, Cristal are clear in first position of the Peruvian equivalent.
However, despite their dominance of the domestic scene, Cristal know that one more defeat will leave them on the verge of being eliminated from this competition.
Holding Rentistas to a goalless draw in their most recent game has given Roberto Mosquera's side something to work with, but they will have to improve significantly to threaten Racing and Sao Paulo.
Alejandro Hohberg has established himself as Cristal's key man this season, scoring four goals in his last seven appearances in all competitions.
- L
- L
- D
- L
- W
- L
- W
- D
- W
- D
- W
- D
- L
- D
- W
- W
- L
- D
Team News
Percy Liza is expected to miss out for Cristal after being forced off in the 22nd minute against Rentistas.
Jhon Marchan appears to be the most likely to replace him in attack, with Jesus Castillo an option in the centre of midfield.
Pizzi must decide whether to hand a recall to veteran Racing striker Dario Cvitanich, who replaced Ivan Maggi for the last half-hour of the Sao Paulo fixture.
Santiago Godoy could remain on the substitutes' bench, but highly-rated Anibal Moreno could be recalled in midfield.
Sporting Cristal possible starting lineup:
Duarte; Lora, Gonzalez, Merlo, Loyola; Tavara, Gonzales; Hohberg, Calcaterra, Corozo; Marchan
Racing Club possible starting lineup:
Arias; Sigali, Dominguez, Novillo; Caceres, Miranda, Martinez, Mena; Piatti, Cvitanich, Lovera
We say: Sporting Cristal 1-2 Racing Club
While a lack of goals have been a problem for Cristal, they have an opportunity to put things right on Tuesday. However, the visitors are proving difficult to beat on this stage, and we expect a hard-fought win for the Argentine side.
Top tip
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 Racing Club win with a probability of 37.09%. A win for Sporting Cristal had a probability of 36.15% and a draw had a probability of 26.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Racing Club win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.1%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.14%) and 0-2 (6.46%). The likeliest Sporting Cristal win was 1-0 (9.95%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.72%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 6.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Racing Club would win this match.