Guarani have a tall task in front of them this week, going up against Botafogo in their inaugural appearance in the round of 16 at the Copa Sudamericana, with the opening leg taking place on Wednesday at Estadio Olimpico Nilton Santos in Brazil.
The Brasileiro Serie A leaders took care of Patronato in the knockout round playoffs, winning that tie 3-1 on aggregate, while El Cacique earned a spot in the last 16 thanks to a 2-0 win over Huracan on matchday six, topping Group B with 11 points.
Match preview
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Botafogo have blown away the competition in the Brazilian top flight this year, currently holding a 12-point advantage atop the table after 17 matches, though the group phase of this competition has proven to be a much more significant challenge for them.
To this point of the domestic campaign, Fogo have only given up 10 goals, the fewest in the Brasileiro Serie A, but in six Sudamericana fixtures this year, they have already conceded half of that total.
Although they did not lose an opening-round fixture at the Sudamericana this year, the Rio-based club dropped points on four occasions, which is one more setback than they have suffered after 17 league games, losing twice while drawing once.
Bruno Lage collected his first victory in charge of this team last weekend, as Fogo scored three unanswered goals to defeat Coritiba 4-1 in league play.
Wednesday will be their first appearance in the last 16 of this competition since 2019, when they were knocked out 3-0 on aggregate by fellow Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro, losing the opening leg of that tie 1-0, one of only two defeats for them at home at this stage of the Sudamericana.
O Glorioso have captured four of five competitive matches played at home versus Paraguayan opponents, failing to concede in any of those victories, with their lone defeat coming in the quarter-finals of this tournament in 2009 when Cerro Porteno defeated them 3-1, advancing 5-2 on aggregate.
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In their sixth appearance at the Copa Sudamericana, Guarani have finally made it into the knockout stage, earning points in their last five group fixtures.
As a result, they, along with Libertad, who knocked out Tigre in the round of 32 playoffs (3-1 on aggregate), are the only teams from Paraguay still standing, the first time since 2017 that at least two teams from that country have made it into the last 16 of this competition.
Under the guidance of Juan Pablo Pumpido since late June, El Aborigen have been a lot stingier defensively, conceding a goal or fewer in four of his five matches at the helm in all competitions, including two clean sheets.
Five of their seven goals conceded in the group stage occurred away from home, though Guarani claimed four points in two of those three road contests.
This will be the first time they face a Brazilian opponent in this competition, with the Paraguayans winning only one previous away fixture against a Brasileiro Serie A side, defeating America Mineiro 1-0 in a second-round qualifier in the 2020 Copa Libertadores.
Not since September 2013 have we seen a club from Paraguay win an opening leg knockout fixture against a Brazilian side, when Libertad beat Sport Recife 2-0, winning that tie 3-1 on aggregate and making it to the semi-finals of the tournament that year.
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Team News
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Gabriel Pires is nearing a return for Botafogo after previously sustaining a calf strain, Rafael is out for the season because of a knee injury and Luis Henrique is not expected back until the middle of September due to a sore shoulder.
Tiquinho Soares, Carlos Eduardo and Victor Sa each had a pair of goals in the group stage to lead this team, while Lucas Perri, who is first in the Brasileiro Serie A regarding clean sheets this season (10), has four so far in this competition.
Guarani are likely to be without Antonio Marin for this match as he is dealing with a cruciate ligament rupture, while Richard Prieto, who joined them earlier this month, is doubtful as he continues to recover from ruptured ligaments.
Federico Santander leads this competition in goals with six, as he and Nestor Camacho scored from the penalty spot in their final group match when captain Rodrigo Munoz made two stops for his first clean sheet of the tournament.
Botafogo possible starting lineup:
Perri; Di Placido, Sampaio, Cuesta, Hugo; Tche Tche, Barbosa; Fernandes, Breno, Sa; Soares
Guarani possible starting lineup:
Munoz; R. Caceres, M. Caceres, Moya, M. Benitez; Farina, Moreira, Rios; Camacho, Santander, R. Benitez
We say: Botafogo 2-0 Guarani
Fogo seem to be putting their primary focus on the domestic campaign, but they are as good defensively as anyone in South America, and their overall depth should be enough to earn them an opening leg victory this week.
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