In the final round of fixtures in the Copa Sudamericana group stage, Defensa y Justicia will welcome Millonarios to Argentina on Friday for a crucial meeting at the top of Group F.
The hosts currently occupy top spot, the only place which guarantees progression to the round of 16, while their visitors sit second and are two points worse off, currently sitting in the knockout playoff place with everything still to play for.
Match preview
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After earning entry into this year's Copa Sudamericana group stage with their domestic performances, Defensa y Justicia had a tough start to the group as they met Millonarios in the first round of games and suffered a 3-0 beating at the hands of Friday's opponents.
They would bounce back in eye-catching fashion, though, having now won their last four continental outings to move to the top of the group, firstly America Mineiro and Penarol 2-1 and 4-1 respectively on home turf.
Julio Vaccari's side then travelled to Brazil for the return fixture with America Mineiro, and they eventually came away from an eventful contest with a 3-2 victory, despite twice going behind, as Gaston Togni hit a brace and Julian Lopez netted the winner 21 minutes from time.
Following that comeback, the Argentinian outfit were most recently in continental action earlier this month away at Penarol, and they guaranteed at least a top-two finish with a comfortable 3-0 victory, courtesy of goals from Togni, Nicolas Fernandez and Santiago Solari, moving two points ahead of Millonarios in the process.
Now on the back of consecutive league defeats to River Plate and Argentinos Juniors, with the latter being a 3-1 beating on Saturday, Vaccari's men head into Friday's meeting knowing that a draw or a victory will be enough to guarantee top spot and advance to the round of 16 without the need for a playoff, and they will be keen to get over the line on home turf.
They meet a Millonarios side who are vying to complete a double over their Argentinian counterparts to move back ahead and take top spot on the final day.
After dropping out of Copa Libertadores qualifying at the hands of Atletico Mineiro, the Colombian outfit kicked off their Copa Sudamericana campaign in style with the 3-0 beating of Defensa y Justicia, thanks to Leonardo Castro's brace and a David Silva goal, before making it two victories on the bounce as Elvis Perlaza and Oscar Cortes found the net in a 2-0 triumph away at Penarol.
Following that perfect start, El Ballet Azul had to settle for a draw at home to America Mineiro, but they were able to maintain pole position in the fight for automatic round-of-16 qualification in their reverse fixture against Penarol, coming out with a 3-1 triumph thanks to first-half goals from Jorge Arias and Luis Busatamante and a Hernan Menosse own goal.
That saw Alberto Gamero's side go into their fifth group fixture away at America Mineiro in a strong position, but they would suffer a first defeat of the continental campaign as Aloisio and Breno hit unanswered goals for the Brazilian outfit to drop Millonarios to second place.
Now with some confidence on the back of a penalty shootout triumph over Atletico Nacional, after a two-legged draw, to seal the Categoria Primera A Apertura title, El Ballet Azul find themselves in the knockout playoff place heading into the final game, with a two-point gap up to their opponents and a three-point lead over America Mineiro, meaning that a victory would guarantee them automatic progression to the round of 16, a draw would see them move into the knockout playoff and a defeat could see their Copa Sudamericana campaign come to an end depending on the other result in the group.
Team News
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Defensa y Justicia could opt to come into Friday's contest with the same starting XI that featured in their 3-0 beating of Penarol in the previous group game, with Nicolas Fernandez set to lead the line in a 4-2-3-1 setup.
He will likely have support from the dangerous trio of Gabriel Alanis, David Barbona and Independiente loanee Gaston Togni, who has shone in the Copa Sudamericana group stage with four goals and two assists in their five matches thus far.
Kevin Gutierrez and Julian Lopez will again feature at the base of the midfield, while either Nazareno Colombo or Julian Malatini will join key man Tomas Cardona in the middle of the back four.
Millonarios could deploy a similar side to the one that started in the second leg of the Categoria Primera A Final earlier in June, and Leonardo Castro should lead the line having netted 10 goals in all competitions so far this term including three alongside two assists in just four Copa Sudamericana group-stage appearances.
Daniel Giraldo is a mainstay in the engine room and will likely be joined by Stiven Vega, while David Silva and Daniel Catano will both hope to feature further forward in support of the lone striker.
They are unable to call on centre-back Juan Pablo Vargas, who is away on international duty with Costa Rica, meaning Andres Llinas and Jorge Arias should partner up at the heart of the defence.
Defensa y Justicia possible starting lineup:
Unsain; Sant'Anna, Colombo, Cardona, Soto; Lopez, Gutierrez; Alanis, Barbona, Togni; Fernandez
Millonarios possible starting lineup:
Montero; Perlaza, Arias, Llinas, Bertel; Giraldo, Vega; Catano, Silva, Cortes; Castro
We say: Defensa y Justicia 1-1 Millonarios
With confidence from the 3-0 beating they dished out to Defensa y Justicia in the reverse fixture, Millonarios travel knowing that only a win will be enough to guarantee them a round-of-16 place without a playoff, but we do not see them pulling off another victory in Argentina and instead opt for a draw, which would cement the first and second-placed finishes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
