Deportivo Tachira play host to Independiente del Valle at Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana quarter-finals on Tuesday.
The home side defeated Santos on penalties in the previous round, while the away side saw off the threat of Lanus with a 2-1 victory on aggregate.
Match preview
Deportivo Tachira had to make do with a point for the second game running following a goalless stalemate against Caracas in Saturday's meeting between the teams.
Alexandre Pallares's men failed to find the back of the net for the third time in four games and could only manage a share of the spoils in San Cristobal.
El Aurinegro remain fourth in the Venezuelan Primera Division table but have now fallen six points adrift of league leaders Metropolitanos.
Next up is the first step towards securing a place in the last four of this year's Copa Sudamericana off the back of a round-of-16 exit last time out.
Unbeaten in their last eight matches on home turf, Tuesday's hosts have proven to be a tough nut to crack in front of their fans and will be looking to continue in the same vein.
Independiente del Valle were held to a 1-1 draw by Barcelona SC when the sides went head-to-head at the Estadio Banco Guayaquil on Sunday.
Martin Anselmi's men took the lead in the 37th minute through Junior Sornoza, but they were pegged back shortly afterwards by Jhon Cifuentes.
Consequently, Los Negriazules have dropped to fifth place in the Ecuador Liga Pro standings, three points shy of top spot after four rounds of matches.
Off the back of a comprehensive 3-1 victory in their most recent away involvement, Tuesday's visitors now go in search of consecutive wins on the road for the second time in the space of the last 30 days.
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Team News
Robert Garces missed Deportivo Tachira's last outing with a hamstring problem, and the midfielder is a doubt for Tuesday's contest as well.
Francisco Flores will be expected to retain his place in the starting lineup for this one after making his return to action against Caracas.
With two goals in his last three starts, Independiente's Junior Sornoza will be looking to continue his fine form in front of goal here.
The aforementioned Sornoza has also directly played a hand in six of his side's eight Copa Sudamericana goals so far and is definitely one to look out for.
Deportivo Tachira possible starting lineup:
Varela; Azmahar, Camacho, Gutierrez, Marrufo; Totolero, Flores, Cova; Chacon, Hernandez, Uribe
Independiente del Valle possible starting lineup:
Ramirez; Carabajal; Schunke, Segovia; Fernandez, Faravelli, Sornoza, Minda; Angulo, Bauman, Ortiz
We say: Deportivo Tachira 1-1 Independiente del Valle
The onus is largely on the home side to seize the initiative and secure a first-leg advantage heading into the return leg. We fancy them to come out on top, albeit by only a narrow margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
