Defensa y Justicia (Argentina) vs Peñarol (Uruguay)
Defensa y Justicia produced an excellent recovery after a disappointing debut in the Copa Sudamericana: they beat Brazil’s America Mineiro 2-1 at home thanks to goals from Julian Lopez and Alexis Soto. The team are now third-placed in group F, trailing their last opponents (who already played in week three) by one. Last Sunday, El Halcon also beat Colon 2-0 at home to hold onto third place in the Liga Profesional table on 24 points. In fact, Defensa are on five consecutive victories in all competitions, with three of those games taking place at Estadio Norberto Tomaghello.
Penarol are going through difficult times in the Copa Sudamericana. The team remain pointless in group F following their 2-0 home defeat to Millonarios in round two, which means they need to start securing points as soon as possible. However, that was their only loss across the last five games in all competitions (along with three victories and one draw): El Carbonero won 2-0 over CA Fenix at home to stay as Torneo Apertura leaders on 30 points in 13 rounds, five above second-placed Nacional. Penarol also won their last away game (2-1 at Plaza Colonia) to break a three-match winless streak of one draw and two losses on the road.
Peñarol has been awful in this competition, Defensa needs a win to get closer to the 1st place and they have two away games next, so I’ll trust the hosts to get the 3 points they need.