On Tuesday, we will discover who will be the first team to earn a place in the Copa Libertadores semi-finals when Internacional host Bolivar at Estadio Beira-Rio.
When these sides met in La Paz for the opening leg last week, the visitors stunned the home crowd with a 16th-minute strike and hung on from there, capturing the opening leg of that tie 1-0.
Match preview
© Reuters
Internacional were on their heels and forced to defend for a good portion of their match in Bolivia last Tuesday, but in the end, they held the fort and came away with a road victory for only the second time in this year's competition.
That was only the second time in club history that they had emerged victorious from a Copa Libertadores fixture played in Bolivia, with the first one coming back in 2011 at Jorge Wilstermann in the group phase (4-1).
Now, Eduardo Coudet has his team are on the verge of a semi-final berth at this tournament for the first time since 2015, needing a win or draw to reach that stage.
Colorado have never lost to a Bolivian opponent at home in this competition while also never conceding to any club from there, outscoring Always Ready, The Strongest and Jorge Wilstermann by a combined score of 9-0.
Their record at home of late, though, should give their opponents some hope, as Internacional have not earned a victory within 90 minutes at Estadio Beira-Rio in six straight matches played there.
On the other hand, Clube do Povo are unbeaten at home in the 2023 Libertadores and have never been behind in any of those games played in Porto Alegre.
© Reuters
Despite having the bulk of the possession (63%) and five shots on target in the opening leg, Bolivar failed to create many quality chances versus the Brazilians.
It was the first time this team had tasted defeat on home soil at the Libertadores this year, with their 10-match unbeaten run at Estadio Hernando Siles in all competitions ending as a result.
La Academia may not be in an ideal scenario heading into this decisive encounter, but they have advanced in two of their previous three two-legged affairs at this tournament when trailing after the opening match, the last time being in 2021, defeating Montevideo Wanderers 5-0 following a 1-0 defeat in the opener.
In 12 of their 15 matches played in Brazil at the Libertadores, El Rey de Copas have come away with nothing, winning only once in normal time versus a Brasileiro Serie A opponent in this competition (2-1 over Athletico Paranaense in 2002).
Benat San Jose's men are winless after 90 minutes in their last seven away matches in all competition, though they managed to knock out the runners-up from the 2022 Libertadores, Athletico Paranaense, in the previous round 5-4 on penalties, despite losing that match in Curitiba 2-0 after regulation time.
If they can win by two or more goals on Tuesday, Bolivar would become the first non-Brazilian club to eliminate two Brasileiro Serie A sides in the same year at the knockout stage of the Libertadores since Boca Juniors got past Cruzeiro and Palmeiras in 2018, only to lose the final versus River Plate.
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Lucas Ramos and Gustavo Campanharo were sidelined for Internacional in the opening leg of this tie because of knee injuries, Vitao is a major doubt for this encounter, while Romulo is back training with the squad after previously hurting his knee.
Enner Valencia picked up his second goal of the competition last week, both of which have come away from home, while Sergio Rochet made five stops for his first clean sheet of the tournament.
Alan Patrick leads them with four goals at the Libertadores this year, while Luiz Adriano is still looking for his first of the knockout stage after scoring twice in group play.
San Jose made one change to the Bolivar starting 11 in the opening leg from the side that began the last Libertadores encounter with Athletico Paranaense, as Bruno Savio replaced Jairo Quinteros.
Carlos Lampe, who had only conceded once in his last two competitive matches between the sticks, gave up one at home to Internacional, the only shot he would face in that contest.
Ronnie Fernandez leads them with four goals in this competition, as he had a brace and Diego Bejarano scored once in their previous Libertadores triumph in the last 16 (3-1 versus Athletico Paranaense).
Internacional possible starting lineup:
Rochet; Bustos, Hernandez, Mercado, Rene; Aranguiz, Cardoso, B. Henrique, De Pena; Patrick, Valencia
Bolivar possible starting lineup:
Lampe; Bentaberry, Quinteros, Jose Sagredo; Bejarano, Justiniano, Villamil, Saucedo; Ronnie Fernandez, Algaranaz, Chico
We say: Internacional 1-1 Bolivar (Internacional advances 2-1 on aggregate)
Bolivar have overcome a lot of odds to get to this point, but their recent away form and past history in Brazil has us sceptical they can overturn this tie in their favour.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
