Independiente del Valle (Ecuador) vs Lanus (Argentina)
Independiente del Valle couldn’t make it to the Copa Libertadores round-of-16 and were transferred to the Copa Sudamericana after finishing in third spot in group D despite beating America Mineiro 3-0 at home in the last game. Coach Renato Paiva left the club after the first semester (the team wasted the chance of winning the Ecuadorian league first stage following a 1-1 away draw at 9 de Octubre and ended up three points behind champions Barcelona). New boss Martin Anselmi made his debut last Friday, beating second-tier side Atletico Samborondon 2-0 in the second round to make it three competitive games unbeaten. At home, the side lost only one of the last nine, winning four and drawing four.
Meanwhile, Lanus had to make a great effort to beat Venezuela’s Metropolitanos 1-0 at home and win the Copa Sudamericana group A with 11 points to advance to the round of 16. Last Saturday, the team lost 2-1 away at River Plate, which means they accumulated five points in as many games in the Liga Profesional and remain out of the continental places in the aggregate table. Overall, El Granate won only one of their last five games, along with two victories and two draws. On away turf, Lanus have been winless in the last five, drawing three and losing two since beating Montevideo Wanderers 1-0 in April.
Can’t imagine this poor and irregular Lanus taking something from a strong home team like Independiente del Valle, especially playing at the altitude of Quito.