Talleres vs Sarmiento

Talleres produced a poor campaign in the Copa Liga Profesional, accumulating 11 points and losing five of their last seven games (with only two successes in the process). But all that had a reason: the team focused on the Copa Libertadores and managed to advance to the round of 16 after drawing 0-0 at Peru’s Sporting Cristal and beating Chile’s Universidad Catolica 1-0 (both away) during the league break. Furthermore, Pedro Caixinha’s men won three of their last four league matches at home, losing only once in that spell.

Sarmiento managed a single point from the last nine on offer in the league without even scoring and that negative streak prevented them from entering the Copa Liga Profesional playoffs. However, their remarkable campaign (21 points) places them now in a Copa Sudamericana spot and allows them to stay out of the relegation zone, which is their main goal. On away turf, Israel Damonte’s men won only one of the last five, drawing one and losing three.

Talleres can’t have another bad tournament, and what they did in Libertadores shows they are better than that, so I expect them to start this season with a win at home.

BET: Talleres -0.75 @ 1.97