Boca Juniors and Palmeiras will kick off their Copa Libertadores semi-final tie on Friday, when they meet in the first leg at La Bombonera.
The hosts beat Argentinian rivals Racing Club to reach this stage, while their Brazilian visitors booked their final-four place by progressing past Deportivo Pereira.
Match preview
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In their bid to win a first Copa Libertadores title since 2007, and the seventh in their history, Boca Juniors' continental campaign began positively in the group stage, as they staked their claim for progression with seven points from their opening three outings, drawing away at Monagas before beating Deportivo Pereira and Colo Colo 2-1 and 2-0 respectively.
A 1-0 loss in the reverse fixture against Deportivo Pereira followed, but the Argentinian giants quickly bounced back and sealed top spot with another pair of three-point hauls, completing a double over Colo Colo with another 1-0 triumph before rounding off the group campaign with a 4-0 thrashing of Monagas, courtesy of goals from Marcelo Weigandt and Valentin Barco and a late Luis Vazquez brace.
That set up a round-of-16 tie with Nacional, and the contest went all the way after a goalless stalemate away from home and a 2-2 draw in Argentina, in which Jorge Almiron's side twice went ahead through Miguel Merentiel and Luis Advincula, before eventually prevailing in a penalty shootout and meeting Racing Club in the final eight, with the first leg of that tie also ending goalless at La Bombonera.
Neither side managed to break the deadlock in the second leg at the end of August, either, with the Azul y Oro then able to come out on top in a second straight shootout to progress further, and they now head into their first Copa Libertadores semi-final since 2020 on the back of a mixed run of domestic form, having won just one of their four top-flight outings since that triumph in the quarter-finals and sitting ninth in their Argentine Primera Division as a result.
Having most recently drawn 1-1 with Lanus on Saturday, eventually being pegged back after Lucas Janson's opener, Almiron will now turn their focus back to their continental bid and look to gain an advantage in their semi-final tie on home turf, before travelling to Brazil for the second leg next week.
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They arguably face their toughest test yet, though, as Palmeiras arrive with the aim of taking a step towards the final in their search for a third Copa Libertadores crown in four years.
After winning South America's premier competition consecutively in 2020 and 2021 and falling short in the semi-finals last time around, Abel Ferreira's side set out to bring the trophy back to the Allianz Parque this term, and after suffering a losing start in the group stage at the hands of Bolivar, they quickly established their dominance, winning the remaining five games including doubles over Barcelona SC and Cerro Porteno to top group C with 15 points and 16 goals scored.
The Verdao then met fellow Brazilian outfit Atletico Mineiro in the round of 16 and progressed with a 1-0 aggregate win, having stood strong to stay on top on home turf after Raphael Veiga netted the only goal of the contest in the away leg the week prior, before they met Deportivo Pereira in the quarter-finals and again went ahead in the away game, in more dominant fashion on that occasion as Marcos Rocha, Mayke and Rony fired them to a 4-0 victory in Colombia.
Ferreira's men followed that up with another goalless draw in Sao Paulo to seal a comfortable aggregate win, and they now head into their fourth straight continental semi-final following a mixed domestic run of their own, having stalled slightly in their pursuit of top spot in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, initially drawing 0-0 with Corinthians and beating Goias 1-0 before most recently losing to Gremio on Friday as Joao Pedro hit the only goal of the game inside the opening 10 minutes.
Now aiming to bounce back from that disappointment, which left them seven points behind top-flight leaders Botafogo, Palmeiras will aim to bounce back on Friday in their trip to La Bombonera and gain the edge in their semi-final away leg before returning to Sao Paulo next week with their sights set on more continental glory.
Team News
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In comparison to their recent league lineups, Boca Juniors set up in a more conservative shape for their two quarter-final legs against Racing Club in the Copa Libertadores, and we should see a similar lineup on Friday, with Jorge Figal and Nicolas Valentini again set to join Marcos Rojo in the middle of the defence, shielding veteran goalkeeper Sergio Romero.
Marcelo Weigandt and Frank Fabra should complete the back five on the right and left-hand sides respectively, while Pol Fernandez, Ezequiel Fernandez and Valentin Barco could line up in an unchanged midfield trio from the recent meeting with Lanus, although Cristian Medina is pushing to return from the outset, having chipped in with five goals in all competitions so far this season.
There is competition at the top end of the pitch too, with Uruguayan veteran Edinson Cavani expected to lead the line, while Miguel Merentiel, who has netted a team-high tally of nine goals so far this term, will also hope to start over Lucas Janson, who netted his second of the campaign on Saturday, with Dario Benedetto and Exequiel Zeballos also in contention.
Palmeiras will likely come into Friday's trip with a similar starting XI to their recent league meeting with Gremio in a 4-2-3-1 shape, although Rony will likely displace 17-year-old Endrick and come back in to lead the line from the outset, having netted 13 goals in all competitions this season including three in the Copa Libertadores.
It is winger Artur who has shone the most on the continent so far this campaign, netting five goals in the Copa Libertadores, and he is bound to again appear in a supporting trio, likely alongside Ze Rafael and Mayke, while Raphael Veiga is another major goal threat from midfield, having found the net 16 times across all competitions this campaign.
He should be joined by Gabriel Menino in the engine room, while Murilo and mainstay Gustavo Gomez will continue to partner up in the middle of a back four.
Boca Juniors possible starting lineup:
Romero; Weigandt, Figal, Rojo, Valentini, Fabra; P Fernandez, E Fernandez, Barco; Merentiel, Cavani
Palmeiras possible starting lineup:
Weverton; Rocha, Gomez, Murilo, Piquerez; Menino, Veiga; Artur, Rafael, Mayke; Rony
We say: Boca Juniors 0-1 Palmeiras
Both sides have been tight defensively in the Copa Libertadores knockout stage, particularly the visitors who are yet to concede in two two-legged ties, and we anticipate another close-fought encounter on Friday with Palmeiras' slightly superior quality possibly inspiring a narrow away win in the first leg.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
