The semi-finals of the 2024 Copa Libertadores begin on Tuesday when Atletico Mineiro welcome River Plate to Arena MRV in the opening leg of that tie.
In the last eight, Galo eliminated the reigning champions Fluminense 2-1 on aggregate, while the Argentines won their tie with Colo-Colo by that same cumulative score.
Match preview
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Playing in front of their home fans has proven to be a massive advantage for Mineiro in this competition, with the Belo Horizonte side boasting a 100% record in the Libertadores this year at Arena MRV.
Two second-half strikes in leg two of their tie with Fluzao were enough for them to reverse a 1-0 deficit from the opening leg, as they have won three consecutive home matches in this tournament without conceding.
Gabriel Milito's men will enter this contest on a five-match unbeaten run across all competitions, advancing to the final of the Copa do Brasil over the weekend against Vasco da Gama (3-2 on aggregate).
This is the first time that Galo will feature in the semi-finals of the Libertadores since 2021, when they drew both matches against Palmeiras and were eliminated on away goals.
Atletico have never lost a semi-final encounter at the Libertadores on home soil in normal time, defeating Newell's Old Boys at this stage in 2013 and playing to a 1-1 draw with Palmeiras in 2021.
Galo have won three of their four meetings versus River Plate in this competition, including their two home matches against them by a combined margin of 4-0.
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For the first time in four years, River Plate are back in the final four of the Copa Libertadores, maintaining a 100% record at home in the tournament this season.
Marcelo Gallardo's side are undefeated in the competition this year, failing to win just two of their 10 matches at the tournament so far.
In two of their previous three semi-final away matches at the Libertadores, the Argentines have emerged victorious, including their last appearance at this stage of the competition in 2020 at Palmeiras (2-0).
Since their 1-0 victory over Colo-Colo in leg two of their quarter-final tie, River Plate have gone winless in three successive matches across all competitions, playing to a 1-1 draw with Velez Sarsfield domestically on Friday.
River Plate have not been behind for a single second at the Libertadores this year and have not lost a competitive fixture when scoring first since July against Godoy Cruz in the Argentine Primera Division campaign (2-1).
Los Millonarios have won four matches at this tournament in normal time on Brazilian soil, the last time being in the semi-finals against Palmeiras in 2020 (2-0).
Team News
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Mineiro will be without Matias Zaracho for another encounter as he is recovering from a hernia problem, while Bernard and Cadu are unlikely to feature with knee injuries.
Deyverson had a brace in their second-leg victory versus Fluminense, while Everson did not have to make a single stop to collect a clean sheet.
On the River Plate side, Pity Martinez may miss this game due to an ACL issue, Rodrigo Aliendro has a sore shoulder, and Agustin Sant'Anna continues to recover from a knee injury.
Facundo Colidio had the lone goal in their previous Copa Libertadores fixture, and captain Franco Armani made two stops to earn the shutout.
Atletico Mineiro possible starting lineup:
Everson; Lyanco, Battaglia, Alonso; Scarpa, Franco, Vera, Arana; Bernard; Deyverson, Hulk
River Plate possible starting lineup:
Armani; Bustos, Pezzella, Gonzalez Pirez, Acuna; Lanzini, Bareiro, Fernandez; Meza, Borja, Colidio
We say: Atletico Mineiro 1-1 River Plate
This looks like a fairly even match, and we expect the opening leg to play out that way between two sound defensive units, but no one having a decisive edge.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
