Melgar vs Racing Club
FBC Melgar are back in the fight for the ticket to the Copa Sudamericana round-of-16 thanks to a 2-0 home success over River Plate (Uruguay) two weeks ago. They earned three points in two games and are now trailing leaders Racing Club by three. Last Friday, the team also beat Deportivo Municipal 3-1 away to make it three wins in a row in all competitions. El Domino are occupying sixth spot in the Peruvian league table with 19 points in ten games, three behind leaders Sport Huancayo. Melgar also won all six games at home in 2022 without even conceding so far.
Meanwhile, Racing Club are perfect in group B following their 2-0 home success over Cuiaba EC. With six points in two games, they opened a three-point gap over the Brazilian side. On Sunday, La Academia drew 0-0 at home against Newell’s Old Boys to secure their ticket to the league playoffs, leading group A with 28 points (five ahead of their nearest opponents). Fernando Gago’s men are on 16 competitive matches unbeaten, having won 12 and drawn four. Seven of those took place on the road: Racing managed five wins in a row and two stalemates.
All games of this group have been under so far, Racing comes from a 0-0 on the weekend and I expect this trend to continue as they are solid in defense and will be happy with a draw here.