San Lorenzo (Argentina) vs Fortaleza (Brazil)
San Lorenzo celebrated a massive 1-0 away success at Venezuela’s Estudiantes de Merida thanks to a goal from Federico Gattoni, despite having played with ten men since the seventh minute. Last Sunday, El Ciclon also secured an important scoreless away draw at Talleres to remain occupying second place of the Argentine league table, accumulating 24 points and trailing leaders River Plate by six. Ruben Insua’s men are on five matches unbeaten in all competitions, winning three and drawing two in that spell. At home, San Lorenzo haven’t lost any of the last nine, with eight wins and one draw (without even conceding).
After being knocked out of the Copa Libertadores by Cerro Porteno, Fortaleza EC had a happy debut in Sudamericana action: they thrashed Palestino (Chile) 4-0 at home. On Saturday, the team made their debut in league action, drawing 1-1 against Internacional SC also as hosts. As a result, O Leao are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions, winning three and drawing two in that spell. On away turf, Fortaleza registered three triumphs, three stalemates and four losses in 2023.
I’m going to trust San Lorenzo here to remain perfect in this competition with a win at home where they’ve been extremely strong.