It will take a lopsided victory for Always Ready to advance beyond the round of 32 at the Copa Sudamericana as they host LDU Quito on Thursday from Estadio Municipal de Al Alto.
A 3-0 victory in the opening leg of this tie last week has Quito in the driver's seat heading into this encounter in what will be their first-ever visit to nearby El Alto.
Match preview
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Last Wednesday was the first knockout fixture for Always Ready in this competition, and that was evident from the early going as they looked uncomfortable and nervous, while failing to generate many chances throughout the 90 minutes.
The Bolivians managed just one effort on target in the first leg of this tie and have now failed to score in back-to-back Sudamericana fixtures.
Perhaps there is a glimmer of hope for Flabio Torres and his side coming into this game as they won their three home matches at this tournament in the group stage, including a 3-0 triumph versus Defensa y Justicia on matchday four.
In those three matches Always Ready did not concede a single goal, while they are unbeaten in their last six home games across all competitions, giving up just two goals over that span.
That said, their quality in the attacking third has been anything but extraordinary of late, failing to score in four of their previous five competitive games.
History is not on their side either, as Albirrojo have never advanced from a tie at the Sudamericana or Libertadores when losing the first leg.
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Quito managed to shake off their Libertadores' disappointment last week with a strong showing in their opening match of this tournament.
Thanks to that victory, the Ecuadorians are well-positioned to make it to at least the round of 16 for the ninth time in their last 10 Sudamericana appearances.
Their victory last week was the first for Vitamina Sanchez as manager in his second match at the helm after his side had claimed a 2-2 draw domestically against Deportivo Cuenca in early June.
Three of their last four competitive fixtures have ended with a victory for this team, and the reigning Sudamericana champions have only suffered one defeat in their previous six matches across all competitions (2-0 to Barcelona SC).
While they are winless in their last four competitive encounters away from home, Quito have not lost a match at this tournament by three or more goals since a 4-0 defeat at Atletico Goianiense on matchday one in 2022.
Albos have never emerged victorious from a Sudamericana affair in Bolivia, losing all three of those away contests by just a single goal.
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Team News
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From matchday six to the opening leg of this tie, Always Ready made two changes to their starting 11, bringing in Karl Mboudou and Cristian Canozales to replace Wesley Tanque and Darlin Rodriguez.
Tanque leads them in goals at this tournament with three in the group phase, while goalkeeper Alain Baroja has not conceded once at home in this competition.
We saw three newcomers in the Quito lineup who were not in the starting 11 for their final Copa Libertadores encounter, with Fernando Cornejo, Oscar Zambrano and Jhojan Julio coming into the fold in place of Ezequiel Piovi, Bryan Ramirez and Michael Estrada.
Julio notched the third goal against the Bolivians last week, while the other strikes came courtesy of Ricardo Ade and Alex Arce.
Always Ready possible starting lineup:
Baroja; Medina, Vaca, Caicedo, Suarez; Rodriguez, Cuellar; Matheus, Terrazas; Martines, Tanque
LDU Quito possible starting lineup:
Dominguez; Quintero, Ade, Mina, Quinonez; Cornejo, Estupinan, Angulo; Alvarado, Arce, Julio
We say: Always Ready 0-1 LDU Quito
Always Ready put together some splendid performances in the group stage, but they seem to have run out of gas, whereas Quito look refreshed and determined to retain their Sudamericana crown.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
