Colo Colo (Chile) vs River Plate (Argentina)

CSD Colo Colo secured a massive 2-1 away success at Junior in Colombia thanks to goals from Lucas Cepeda and Maximiliano Falcon to reach the Copa Libertadores’ quarter-finals via a 3-1 aggregate win. El Cacique postponed their home match against Universidad Catolica last weekend, which means they remain second-placed in the league on 45 points, trailing leaders Universidad Chile by seven with two games in hand. Their last game was at second-tier side Deportes Magallanes, losing 3-0 away in the first leg of the Copa Chile semi-finals on September 7th. That defeat stopped a 14-match unbeaten streak of 11 victories and three draws in all competitions. At home, Colo Colo won their last seven games.

Meanwhile, River Plate found it easy to beat Talleres 2-1 at home in the return leg of the round of 16, making it 3-1 on aggregate to advance to the quarter-finals. Last Friday, Marcelo Gallardo’s men also beat second-placed Atletico Tucuman 4-1 as hosts in the league, making it 21 points in 14 Liga Profesional matches (nine behind leaders Velez Sarsfield). El Millonario also are on nine competitive matches unbeaten, winning four and drawing five. On away turf, River won only one of the last eight, along with four stalemates and three losses.

Despite their recent good results River still lacks good football as coach Marcelo Gallardo has been back for only a few weeks and he’s still trying to find their best version. They are favorites to advance of course, but Colo Colo is a tough rival, coach Miguel Almiron really knows their rivals and will have veteran Arturo Vidal back, so I can’t see them as underdogs here and I think they should at least be able to hold to a draw.

BET: Colo Colo +0.25 @ 1.83