Preview:Rentistas vs. Racing Club - prediction, team news, lineups

In their first-ever appearance in the Copa Libertadores, Rentistas welcome Racing Club to the Estadio Complejo Rentistas on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the visitors are relatively familiar with the competition, having featured in four of the last six editions.

Match preview

Rentistas' debut Copa campaign is set to be a tough one as they have been paired alongside Sao Paulo, Sporting Cristal and Racing Club in Group E.

Martin Varini's men qualified for the tournament under unfamiliar circumstances, and they are now set to go toe to toe against three of South America's top sides.

The Bichos Colorados have made a meteoric rise considering the fact that they were still playing in the second division of Uruguayan football two years ago.

Thursday's hosts will be hoping to get off to a fast start in their opening fixture in order to ease the nerves going into other clashes.

Racing cCub were one of the dark horses in last season's Copa before their journey was brought to an end by fellow Argentine team Boca Juniors.

Juan Antonio Pizzi's men took a 1-0 lead into the second leg, but they were unable to complete the job following a 2-0 defeat on the day. La Academia have blown hot and cold in recent weeks, having scored and conceded 10 goals apiece in their last 10 matches.

In that time, they have picked up 15 points, and currently sit in fifth place in Group A of the Copa de la Liga Professional.

Team News

Gonzalo Vega's move to Nacional is a big blow for the hosts as he scored a third of their 45 goals in the 2020 Uruguayan Primera Division season.

Hoping to fill that void is 21-year-old Salomon Rodriguez, who has some big shoes to fill as he leads the line going forward.

Nicolas Reniro was Racing Club's top scorer in last year's competition, but he is yet to score in any of his last 12 matches.

Thomas Chancalay has been a standout performer in recent weeks, directly contributing to three goals in his last four outings.

Rentistas possible starting lineup:

Irrazabal; Abero, Fratta, Malrechauffe, Rodales; Colazo, Villalba, Cristobal, Perez; Rodriguez, Cesar

Racing Club possible starting lineup:

Arias; Orban, Novillo; Martinez, Caceres; Rojas, Gutierrez, Miranda, Chancalay; Copetti, Cvitanich

We say: Rentistas 0-3 Racing Club

Rentistas have punched fairly above their weight in recent months, and a win here would certainly be in keeping with that trend. However, due to their familiarity and experience in this tournament, we expect the away side to coast to a comfortable victory come the full-time whistle.