A place in the last 16 of the Copa Sudamericana will be at stake on Wednesday at La Bombonera when Boca Juniors host Independiente del Valle in the second leg of that tie.
The opening encounter between them ended in a 0-0 draw, leaving it all to play for in midweek when the scene shifts to La Boca in Buenos Aires in a winner-take-all showdown.
Match preview
© Reuters
It is rare to see a side like Boca Juniors on their heels and defending for long stretches, as we saw in the opening leg, with the Argentines only managing 24% possession.
Even so, Diego Martinez saw his side hold firm on the backline, posting their first clean sheet away from home in a competitive fixture since a 0-0 draw with Nacional Potosi on matchday one of this tournament.
Azul y Oro will fancy their chances of advancing into the round of 16, seeing as they have not lost a competitive home game this year, outscoring their three Sudamericana opponents at La Bombonera this season by a combined margin of 6-1.
A victory on Wednesday would propel them into the last 16 of this tournament for the first time since 2014, when they made the semi-finals and lost to arch-rivals River Plate (1-0 on aggregate).
That was the last time they had appeared in the Sudamericana before this season, while the Argentines have not been knocked out before the round of 16 of this tournament since 2012, when Independiente eliminated them on away goals.
Xeneize have not fallen behind for a single second at home in the 2024 Sudamericana and have won their last three matches played in La Boca across all competitions.
© Reuters
Despite being on the front foot throughout the opening leg, Independiente del Valle had a disappointing final product, failing to score at home for the first time all year.
Javier Gandolfi's men are unbeaten in their previous five encounters across all competitions, though only one of those games took place at home (1-0 over Marcara in the Ecuadorian top flight).
Over that stretch, they have been sharp defensively, conceding a goal or fewer in each encounter while posting consecutive clean sheets in all competitions.
In the Libertadores group stage, they did not win a single away contest, losing their last two matches as visitors to San Lorenzo (2-0) and Palmeiras (2-1), respectively.
Since suffering a 2-1 defeat to Universidad Catolica in 2019, the two-time Sudamericana champions (2019 and 2022) have not lost a second-leg fixture after 90 minutes in this tournament.
They are unbeaten at home against Argentine opponents, winning their only previous visit to La Bombonera 3-1 in the 2016 Libertadores semi-finals, and advancing from that tie, 5-3 on aggregate.
Team News
© Reuters
In the opening leg of this tie, Boca were without Cristian Lema because of a hamstring strain, Marcos Rojo sat out with a sore back and Nicolas Figal was sidelined due to a sprained ankle.
Luis Advincula has been suffering from physical discomfort and is unlikely to feature in this contest, while Marcelo Saracchi could miss a few more weeks with a muscle injury.
Sergio Romero stopped the five targeted efforts that he faced last Wednesday for his first clean sheet at the Sudamericana since their 1-0 win over Trinidense.
Independiente will be without Bryan Garcia through suspension, and Youri Ochoa is unlikely to play in this decisive fixture as he is dealing with a ligament tear sustained in February.
Junior Sornoza may miss this encounter due to a torn muscle, Joan Lopez is questionable after suffering a contortion, while Jose Klinger remains sidelined with a ligament tear.
Goalkeeper Moises Ramirez only faced two shots on target in the opening leg of this tie and managed to pick up his second consecutive clean sheet across all competitions.
Boca Juniors possible starting lineup:
Romero; Anselmino, Di Lollo, Valentini, Blanco; J. Ramirez, Delgado; Saralegui, Zeballos, Janson; Cavani
Independiente del Valle possible starting lineup:
M. Ramirez; Fernandez, Carabajal, Schunke, Caicedo; Paez, Ortiz, Mercado; Hoyos, Lopez, Medina
We say: Boca Juniors 1-0 Independiente del Valle (Boca Juniors advance 1-0 on aggregate)
These are two sides with a vast array of experience in knockout matches of this magnitude and with little to choose between them, we are giving the edge to Boca given their home form, but it could go either way.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
