San Lorenzo and Sao Paulo resume their Copa Sudamericana campaign on Thursday evening when they play the first leg of their last-16 tie.
While the visitors' performance in the group phase earned them a spot at this stage, San Lorenzo were required to come through a playoff encounter to extend their stay in the 2023 competition.
Match preview
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Sitting down in eighth position in the Brazilian top flight, Sao Paulo have failed to make significant progress on the domestic scene with much work ahead if they are to finish in the top four.
Nevertheless, despite prevailing in just seven of their 17 league matches in 2023, Tricolor Paulista produced close to perfection during the group stages of this competition.
As well as five wins and one draw coming against Tigre, Deportes Tolima and Academia Puerto Cabello, Sao Paulo also scored 13 goals and kept six successive clean sheets.
Dorival Junior's team went a further five games unbeaten in all competitions upon the completion of the round-round phase, yet they are now on a three-match winless streak.
Last time out, they were held to a goalless draw at home to 18th-placed Bahia, further highlighting that they have lost their way in recent weeks.
As for San Lorenzo, they have just completed the Argentine top flight for another year, securing third position despite a poor end to the campaign.
Consecutive defeats were posted against Argentinos Juniors and Tigre, yet they still finished in the bronze-medal position with by far and away the best defensive record in the division.
Such performances did not come in the Copa Sudamericana group stages, with Ruben Dario Insua's side conceding six goals in as many matches as they finished runners-up in Group H on goal difference.
That said, the Saints came through their playoff encounter with Independiente Medellin in efficient fashion, taking the away leg by a 1-0 scoreline before prevailing 2-0 at Estadio Pedro Bidegain.
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Team News
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Having made sweeping changes for the final league game with Tigre, Insua is expected to revert back to a similar side that played the second leg against Independiente Medellin.
Adam Bareiro has been the star of San Lorenzo's campaign thus far, scoring five times in seven games, although his two goals in the last encounter were from the penalty spot.
Diego Perea was sent off in the league at the weekend, but that suspension will only apply to domestic games with the forward likely to take his spot among the replacements.
As for Sao Paulo, Erison needed to be withdrawn due to injury after just 24 minutes against Bahia, resulting in Juan being in line to start this contest.
While former AC Milan star Alexandre Pato has recently gotten some minutes under his belt, he will not be considered for a role from the opening whistle here.
San Lorenzo possible starting lineup:
Batalla; Lujan, Hernandez, Perez; Giay, Elias, Braida; Maroni; Leguizamon, Bareiro, Barrios
Sao Paulo possible starting lineup:
Rafael; Rafinha, Arboleda, Beraldo, Paulista; Maia, Alisson; Wellington, Rodrigo, David; Juan
We say: San Lorenzo 0-1 Sao Paulo
With Sao Paulo not conceding in six group games and San Lorenzo keeping two shutouts in the playoff round, goals may not be a regular occurrence in this tie. Nevertheless, we are backing the visitors to edge a tight game, giving them an advantage ahead of the reverse fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Darren Plant
