Defensa y Justicia (Argentina) vs America Mineiro (Brazil)
Defensa y Justicia had a rough night in their debut in the 2023 Copa Sudamericana two weeks ago and suffered a 3-0 away defeat at Millonarios in Colombia. Last Saturday, they managed to beat Instituto 1-0 at home to make it two wins in a row, which allowed them to climb into fifth place of the Liga Profesional table on 21 points, trailing table toppers River Plate by nine after 12 rounds. At home, Defensa registered three victories, two draws and three losses in 2023.
America Mineiro played their first Copa Sudamericana match in history on April 5, when they showed an excellent display of football to beat Penarol from Uruguay 4-1 at home. On a sorry note, they lost 3-0 to Fluminense (also as hosts) in the Brazilian league opener last Saturday, which means O Coelho succumbed to three defeats across their last five matches in all competitions, winning the other two. On a positive note, America lost only once on the road in 2023, along with three victories and four draws.
Defensa has been a bit irregular but they have a lot of experience in this competition and Iām going to trust them to take the 3 points on this must win game they have at home after losing in week 1.