Deportes Tolima and Academia Puerto Cabello only have pride to play for when the two sides square off in their final group stage encounter at the Copa Sudamericana on Tuesday at Estadio Manuel Murillo Toro in Colombia.
El Vinotinto y Oro were officially eliminated from this competition when they were beaten 5-0 by Sao Paulo on matchday five, while the Venezuelans are without a point in this edition of the tournament, falling 2-1 at Tigre in their previous encounter.
Match preview
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Making their first appearance at this competition since 2013, Deportes have missed the knockout stage for the first time, failing to score in their last three group fixtures.
The debut campaign for Juan Cruz Real has been a massive disappointment as his side are currently 13th in the Categoria Primera table and in danger of missing out on the knockout portion of that competition for the first time since 2017.
That blown lead on matchday two at the Sudamericana has come back to haunt Deportes as they were less than 30 minutes away from defeating Tigre before conceding two goals in 12 minutes, losing 2-1.
Had they been able to hang onto that 1-0 advantage, the Colombians would have had a shot to make it into the next round of this tournament for the fifth time.
They have never lost a competitive fixture versus a Venezuelan opponent, defeating Puerto Cabello in its opening group fixture 2-0.
Before their 5-0 defeat to Sao Paulo, Los Pijaos had been fairly solid defensively, conceding only twice in their opening four Sudamericana encounters, though it was the second time in successive campaigns that they had given up five or more goals versus a Brazilian side after falling 7-1 at the Copa Libertadores last year against the eventual winners Flamengo.
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Qualifying for the group stage of this competition for the first time was a big accomplishment for this Venezuelan club, who are going through some growing pains at this stage of the competition.
Noel Sanvicente has a successful track record domestically, leading Caracas to the Venezuelan Primera Division title six times, but he has not been able to replicate that same success on the continental stage.
At long last, they found the back of the net on matchday five against Tigre, the first for them at the 2023 competition, with the Venezuelans netting the fewest goals among sides at the Sudamericana group phase this season.
Should they fail to earn a result in this upcoming encounter, Puerto Cabello would become the first team from Venezuela to go pointless since the group portion of this tournament was first introduced in 2021, while they could also become the first club from the Primera Division to win a game in the group stage of this competition.
Cabello have lost all of their previous encounters at this competition versus teams outside of Venezuela, winning only one of their eight Sudamericana fixtures historically, defeating Caracas 1-0 in the group stage of this season's tournament and advancing to this point.
Although their time at the Copa Sudamericana is coming to an end, we could see this team in a bigger competition next season, as they currently lead the Venezuelan Primera Division with 35 points, losing only once so far, putting them in a position to claim a Copa Libertadores qualifying spot as they near the midway point of the domestic campaign.
Team News
Deportes will be missing Leider Riascos on Tuesday after he was cautioned twice in the opening half-hour versus Sao Paulo, while Cristian Trujillo was back in the lineup on that occasion, his first Sudamericana appearance since their opening match, replacing Juan Pablo Nieto in the 63rd minute.
Christian Vargas posted two clean sheets in the opening three matches for Tolima at this competition before Neto Volpi started in their 0-0 draw versus Tigre on matchday four.
Diego Herazo and Yeison Guzman found the back of the net in their victory against the Venezuelans in April, with their only other goal at this season's tournament coming courtesy of Facundo Bone in a 2-1 loss to Tigre.
Sanvicente made two changes to his Cabello starting 11 from matchday four to five as Junior Cedeno and Alfredo Stephens drew into the lineup versus Tigre, replacing George Ayine and Luifer Hernandez.
Danny Perez has their only goal in this year's competition, firing home a consolation marker from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time earlier this month, while Hernandez is the top scorer domestically in Venezuela with eight so far this season.
Luis Romero has started every encounter for Puerto Cabello, conceding 11 times in this competition, though he only gave up one in their last domestic fixture when an own goal by Lucas Trejo gave them an early lead, with Hernandez and Perez also finding the back of the net in a 3-1 triumph versus Zamora FC.
Deportes Tolima possible starting lineup:
Volpi; Mera, Arboleda, Cuenu, J. Hernandez; Nieto, Rios; Lucumi, Valencia, Arango; Herazo
Academia Puerto Cabello possible starting lineup:
Romero; De La Hoz, Peraza, Rivero, Osio, Granados; Cedeno, Colina, Lugo; Perez, L. Hernandez
We say: Deportes Tolima 1-0 Academia Puerto Cabello
These are two defensive-minded teams with nothing to play for, and we anticipate a close game with the Colombians' experience in big tournaments and overall quality narrowly coming out on top.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
