Atletico Paranaense vs Estudiantes
Athletico Paranaense are into the Copa Libertadores top eight for the first time since 2005 thanks to their 1-1 away draw at Libertad (3-2 on aggregate) with Romulo netting the equaliser in stoppage time. Last Sunday, Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men also beat Sao Paulo 1-0 at home to climb into fourth spot in the Brazilian league table on 34 points after 20 rounds. In fact, O Furacao lost only one of their last six games in all competitions, winning three and drawing two in that spell. At home, Athletico are on 14 games unbeaten, having won 11 and drawn three.
Meanwhile, Estudiantes go on in their struggle to lift their fifth Copa Libertadores title following a 3-0 home success over Fortaleza EC (4-1 on aggregate). However, they managed a single victory in a total of six competitive matches since then, drawing two and losing three. Last weekend, El Pincha drew 0-0 at home against Banfield to make it 12 points in 11 rounds in the Liga Profesional, an irregular campaign which keeps them out of the Copa Libertadores spots in the 2022 aggregate table. On away turf, Estudiantes are on five winless matches, having drawn one and lost four since beating Aldosivi 1-0 on June 10th.
Estudiantes has struggled lately with very irregular performances, and in this game they will miss striker Leandro Diaz while another top player, Mauro Boselli, is doubtful after missing some games due to injuries so I expect a home win here.