Boca Juniors (Argentina) vs Deportivo Cali (Colombia)
Boca Juniors had to settle for a 1-1 home draw against Corinthians SC last week and dropped down to the third spot in the group F table. With seven points, they are one point behind the top two and need to beat Deportivo Cali to leapfrog them and advance to the round of 16. On Sunday, El Xeneize lifted the Copa Liga Profesional title by beating Tigre in the final in Cordoba. The team are unbeaten in their last seven matches in all competitions, winning five and drawing two. At home, Boca are on seven without defeat (three victories and four draws).
Deportivo Cali climbed into the top of the group C table on eight points thanks to their 3-0 home success over Always Ready last Thursday. As a result, the team need to avoid the defeat at Boca Juniors to advance to the knockout stage for the first time since 2004. The team didn’t have league action last weekend as they couldn’t make it to the final stage, ending up in 19th spot in the Torneo Apertura. In fact, the aforementioned success broke their four-match winless streak of three draws and one loss. On away turf, Cali won only one of their last eight, drawing four and losing three.
Boca needs to win to advance, their confidence can’t be any better after winning the title last Sunday, so I expect them to get the 3 points they need without any problems.