A single point for River Plate on Thursday would be enough to send the former four-time Copa Libertadores winners into the knockout stage of the tournament for an eighth successive campaign as they host Colo-Colo at El Monumental.
Los Millionarios are unbeaten in round-robin play this year, leading the Group F standings with 10 points, while the current league leaders in Chile are three points behind them in second.
Match preview
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River Plate are in another solid position to make the last 16 of this competition, though it has not always been smooth sailing for them this time around.
In their previous two group games, they have struggled with pass accuracy, clicking below 80% versus Colo-Colo and Fortaleza.
They found themselves behind after four minutes against the Brazilians on matchday four, while leaving it late against the Chileans with a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes, holding on to a narrow 2-1 win.
One of the most sought-after managers in South America at the moment could be Marcelo Gallardo, who has done a masterful job since taking over this team.
He has frequently employed different formations depending on their opponents, and his free-flowing brand of football which focuses on quick combination play is a joy to watch.
The former Argentine attacking midfielder, who has collected numerous trophies since taking charge of La Banda, likes to create overloads to one side of the field, which has allowed his team to have plenty of isolations, while putting his players in their share of 1V1 situations.
If they are able to keep their final two opponents at bay for 90 minutes, it would be the fewest goals that they have conceded (two) at this stage of the competition since 1990, when River only allowed one, though there was only one other team in their group that year (Independiente).
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After missing out on this event in 2021, the reigning Supercopa de Chile champions are in a position to make the knockout stage of this tournament for the first time since 2018
The last time they made it to this point of the Copa Libertadores, Los Albos were not at their best, as they finished dead-last in 2020 with six points.
This season, they are on a roll domestically, leading the league with 27 points, with only one defeat in their last nine games, though they have cooled off a little in this competition, with just a single point in their previous two encounters.
They have a patient approach and are not in a hurry to score, and we expect them to try to slow the tempo of this encounter to a snail's pace in an attempt to frustrate the talented team based in Nunez.
It has been 14 years since they have earned three points against a club from Argentina in this competition, though none of those seven victories at this event came away from home.
So far in their four matches, Gustavo Quinteros's side have been guilty of failing to put their opponents away at times when they have the chance.
They let two points slip away in a 1-1 draw against Alianza Lima, while barely hanging on to win their first two group games by a 2-1 score, conceding late each time to set up a nervy final few moments.
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Team News
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River Plate remain without the services of midfielder Felipe Pena Biafore, who has a cruciate ligament rupture, Robert Rojas is nursing a tibia and fibula fracture and Matias Suarez is out with a thigh muscle strain.
A first-half penalty from Enzo Fernandez was enough to give Los Millionarios a 1-1 draw with Fortaleza, Esequiel Barco notched the winner in their first group game against Colo-Colo, while Julian Alvarez has two assists so far in this competition.
Goalkeeper Franco Armani made seven stops in their previous home fixture, collecting his first clean sheet of the competition in a 2-0 win over Fortaleza.
Juan Martin Lucero is tied for second in goals in the 2022 Copa Libertadores, scoring four times so far for Colo-Colo, including a consolation strike in their defeat to River last month, with their other tallies at this tournament coming courtesy of Esteban Pavez and Pablo Solari.
Gabriel Costa has contributed a pair of assists to lead the team in that department, while a brace from Lucero, plus a goal each by Matias Zaldivia and Cesar Fuentes gave them a 4-0 win over Coquimbo on Saturday in the Chilean Primera Division.
In their four group fixtures so far, Quinteros has only inserted one new face into the starting 11, with Zaldivia replacing Emiliano Amor on defence for matchday two after the Argentine defender received two yellow cards in their opener.
River Plate possible starting lineup:
Armani; Casco, Martinez, Diaz, Herrera; Pochettino, Palavecino, Fernandez; Barco, Alvarez, Simon
Colo-Colo possible starting lineup:
Cortes; Suazo, Amor, Falcon, Opazo; Pavez, Fuentes; Costa, Gil, Solari; Lucero
We say: River Plate 2-0 Colo-Colo
La Banda can beat you in a variety of ways, and as good as Colo-Colo are when it comes to controlling the pace of a game, we do not expect them to be effective against the Argentines, who are as good on the ball as any club in South America.
If River Plate have the ball for long stretches as we anticipate, Los Albos could struggle to keep up with the speed and skill that Gallardo can depend on to get the job done.
For additional data used by our team to analyse our suggested result please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
