San Lorenzo (Argentina) – Santos (Brazil)
San Lorenzo are making a strong impression in the Copa Sudamericana: two weeks ago, they delivered an excellent second-half performance to defeat Deportivo Cuenca 2–0 at home and climb to the top of Group D with four points, one ahead of their opponent. Last Friday, they also secured a 1–0 away victory over Platense, taking a major step toward qualifying for the Torneo Apertura playoffs: El Ciclón reached 22 points and need just one more to seal their spot. In fact, they are on an eight-match unbeaten run across all competitions (four wins and four draws). Three of those matches were played at home, where they recorded two wins and one draw.
Santos FC are struggling in the Copa Sudamericana. On Matchday 2, they disappointed their fans with an unacceptable 1–1 home draw against a rotated Recoleta FC side. With that result, O Peixe sit bottom of Group D with just one point from six available. On Saturday, with heavy rotation implemented by head coach Cuca, they drew 2–2 away to EC Bahia, leaving them 17th in the Brasileirao with 14 points from 13 matches. Santos are on a four-match winless run across all competitions (three draws and one defeat) and have not won away in their last seven matches (three draws and four losses). Gabriel Menino, sidelined with a muscle injury, remains unavailable.
I’m going to trust San Lorenzo here, who are in very good form since the coach change, not losing in the last 8 games and not even conceding a goal in the last 4. Santos has been struggling in all competitions, including a totally unexpected draw at home against the very poor Recoleta, so I expect a home win here.
BET: San Lorenzo -0.25 @ 2.05