Looking to pick up their first victory in Group H of the Copa Libertadores, Sporting Cristal play host to Talleres at the Estadio Nacional de Lima on Tuesday.
The Argentine outfit, meanwhile, head into the game on a run of six consecutive defeats on the road and will be desperate to end this dry spell and edge closer to the knockout stages.
Match preview
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Sporting Cristal maintained their fine run of results in the Peruvian First Division as they claimed a thrilling 3-2 victory over a resilient Ayacucho side on home turf last Friday.
Christofer Gonzales, Christopher Olivares and Rafael Lutiger put the hosts three goals up heading into the half-time break before Aryan Romani and Nicolas Rayon scored in a two-minute spell to reduce the deficit.
Sporting Cristal, who won four and drawn one in their last five league outings, have picked up 25 points from 13 games to sit third in the Liga 1 standings, three points off league leaders Melgar.
However, Roberto Mosquera's side have struggled to match their impressive domestic performances in the Copa Libertadores, where they are yet to taste victory, picking up one draw and losing three of their opening four outings.
Sporting Cristal's continental struggles has been owing to their toothless display in the final third, where they have managed just two goals so far, while shipping six at the opposite end of the pitch.
Los Cerveceros, who are rock bottom in Group H, must now avoid any slip-ups in their final two outings as they look to leapfrog third-placed Universidad Catolica in the Copa Sudamericana qualification spot.
Elsewhere, Talleres returned to winning ways in the Argentine Primera Division last time out when they saw off Sarmiento 1-0 at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes.
Heading into the game on the back of two consecutive league defeats, 22-year-old forward Federico Girotti came up clutch for the Albiazul as he struck the winner with three minutes left to play.
Talleres now turn their attention to the Copa Libertadores, where they have enjoyed a fine campaign so far and find themselves second in the group standings with seven points from four games.
Pedro Caixinha's men now need a maximum of four points from their final two outings to book their place in the knockout phase of the continental competition as they hold a three-point lead over Universidad Catolica.
However, they have struggled for results on the road, where they are currently on a dire six-game losing streak and are yet to taste victory since the turn of the year — picking up one draw and losing seven of their eight away games since a 2-1 win at Sarmiento on December 4.
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Team News
Sporting Cristal head into Tuesday's game with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Mosquera the luxury of a full-strength squad at his disposal.
With his strike against Ayacucho, Olivares has now scored in each of his last two outings and the 23-year-old forward could be rewarded with his first Copa Libertadores starting appearance.
Meanwhile, Talleres will take to the pitch without the services of Diego Valoyes, who picked up a muscle injury back in April's reverse fixture.
Off the back of an impressive league victory over Sarmiento, Caixinha could name a similar side on Tuesday, meaning we could see an attacking trio of Girotti, Matias Godoy and Michael Santos.
At the opposite end of the pitch, we expect to see a centre-back pairing of Ramiro Gonzalez and Rafael Perez, while Hector Fertoli, Rodrigo Villagra and Ignacio Mendez should handle business at the heart of the park.
Sporting Cristal possible starting lineup:
Duarte; Lora, Madrid, Lutiger, Loyola; Calcaterra, Castillo, Yotun; Avila. Olivares, Gonzales
Talleres possible starting lineup:
Herrera; Catalan, Gonzalez, Perez, Diaz; Fertoli, Villagra, Mendez; Girotti, Godoy, Santos
We say: Sporting Cristal 1-1 Talleres
Sporting Cristal have stumbled into this year's Copa Libertadores and find themselves rock bottom in Group H after picking up just one point from their opening four games. While the visitors have enjoyed a decent continental run so far, they have struggled for results on the road this year. We predict the hosts will do just enough to force a share of the spoils and keep their hopes of qualifying for the Copa Sudamericana alive.
For additional data used by our team to analyse our suggested result please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
