River (Argentina) vs Fluminense (Brazil)
River Plate are now facing big trouble in the Copa Libertadores. A lucky 1-1 away draw at Sporting Cristal from Peru in week four left them alive, but still bottom in group D on four points. Trailing second-placed The Strongest by two, they need to win here in order to keep hoping. Last Saturday, El Millonario saw their home game against Defensa y Justicia abandoned, but they still are the Argentine league leaders on 41 points, four above second-placed Talleres. Overall, River lost only one of their last five matches, winning two and drawing two. At home, they are on seven victories in a row since losing to Sarandi Arsenal 2-1 in February.
Meanwhile, Fluminense are no longer perfect in this competition: they were beaten by The Strongest 1-0 away in week four and couldn’t clinch their ticket to the round-of-16. However, they remain as group D leaders on nine points, five above third-placed Sporting Cristal at the moment. Last Sunday, O Tricolor beat Internacional 2-1 at home, a result that allowed them to stop a five-match winless streak of one draw and four losses in all competitions and also climb into sixth spot of the Brazilian league table on 16 points after nine rounds. On away turf, Fluminense lost their last four games.
River is against the wall here, either they win or they could be out in the groups stage, something no one expected. I don’t like the way they’ve been playing in this competition and even though Fluminense is not in their best form right now, I’ll trust them to put this nervous River team that won’t have captain Enzo Perez, in trouble.