River Plate can avoid another early exit from the knockout stage of the Copa Libertadores when they host Talleres on Wednesday in the second leg of that round of 16 tie at Estadio Mas Monumental.
In the opening leg last week, La Banda finally broke Talleres' resolve, scoring with four minutes remaining to claim a 1-0 triumph.
Match preview
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It was a frustrating opening leg for River last week, but in the end, they were rewarded for all their pressure, having 61% possession and three efforts on target.
Since returning to the club earlier this month, Marcelo Gallardo has yet to lose a match in charge, with the victory versus Talleres being his first since coming back.
So far at the 2024 Libertadores, River Plate have yet to lose, winning six of their seven matches played to this point of the competition.
At home is where they have been at their best, without a goal conceded in their three group games played at Estadio Mas Monumental, while they are unbeaten in 10 consecutive home fixtures across all competitions.
On Wednesday, this group can exercise some demons from a season ago when they came into the second leg of their round of 16 tie versus Internacional ahead by a goal, only to lose 2-1 and get knocked out on penalties (11-9).
Los Millonarios are unbeaten in their previous three meetings with Talleres, winning two of those encounters, including a 1-0 home triumph in the Copa de la Liga last year.
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The strategy of hanging back and frustrating the opposition nearly worked for the side from Cordoba in the opening leg, but ultimately, sustaining so much pressure became too much.
It was the first time at the Libertadores this year that they had failed to win a home fixture in what was their first competitive defeat since matchday six of the Argentine Primera Division campaign (3-0 versus Velez Sarsfield).
Talleres Cordoba have never advanced beyond a two-leg tie in this tournament when conceding the opening goal, only advancing to the quarter-finals once in 2022.
In the opening phase, Walter Ribonetto's men claimed four points away from home, with their only triumph coming at Cobresal on matchday three (2-0).
The last time they were in the last 16 of this tournament, however, they advanced into the quarter-finals thanks to a 2-0 away win versus Colon in 2022 after playing to a 1-1 draw in the opener.
La T have won three of their previous four visits to Estadio Mas Monumental by a 1-0 score while holding River Plate off the scoresheet in a 0-0 draw in the 2002 Libertadores group stage.
Team News
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For this decisive encounter, River Plate are unlikely to have Agustin Sant'Anna or Facundo Colidio available due to knee injuries, while Miguel Borja still has a hamstring strain.
Paulo Diaz fired home the only goal four minutes from the end, while Franco Armani only faced one effort on target and collected the clean sheet.
In the opening leg of this tie, Talleres were without Ruben Botta and Alejandro Martinez as they are both dealing with unknown injuries.
Lucas Suarez will not be available to Talleres Cordoba on Wednesday after receiving a straight red card in the second half last week.
River Plate possible starting lineup:
Armani; Bustos, Pezzella, P. Diaz, E. Diaz; Simon, Kranevitter, Lanzini; Solari, Bareiro, Echeverri
Talleres possible starting lineup:
Herrera; Benavidez, Catalan, Rodriguez, Riveros; M. Portillo, Moyano; Palacios, Barticciotto, Galarza; Tarragona
We say: River Plate 1-1 Talleres (River Plate advances 2-0 on aggregate)
Talleres showed tremendous poise and discipline in the opening leg of this tie, but they will have to open up and play to win at some point.
River Plate are more than capable of handling the pressure Cordoba may throw at them and hitting them with a goal on the counter.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
