Club Libertad and Sportivo Ameliano will face off in the Copa Sudamericana round of 16, with the first leg set to get underway at Estadio ueno Defensores del Chaco on Thursday night.
The winner of the tie between these Paraguayan Primera Division rivals will move on to face either Boca Juniors or Cruzeiro in the quarter-final of the competition later this month.
Match preview
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For a second consecutive season, Libertad saw their Copa Libertadores campaign come to an end in the group stage, as they finished in third place, nine points behind River Plate and three shy of Nacional's 10-point tally.
After dropping to this competition, Gumarelo Repollero were drawn against Universidad Catolica in the playoff round and secured a 3-1 aggregate win, including a 2-0 win at home and a 1-1 draw at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa a week later.
Ariel Galeano's side were knocked out of this competition at this stage last season, but are heavily fancied to get through this time around given their excellent record against their upcoming opponent.
In the last 10 encounters between 2022 and this season, Libertad have won eight times, including the last four in a row, while Sporting Ameliano won once and one match ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
However, it should be noted that the reigning league champions have not been in the best form lately, having failed to win any of their last five matches in all competitions, which is a major turnaround from the seven wins in a row they posted between mid-May and July.
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Meanwhile, Sportivo Ameliano came through the group stage of this competition in great shape, clinching the top spot in their group with 13 points in six games, holding off the fancied Athletico Paranaense, who finished in second.
After a shaky start to the competition, which included an opening-round loss to Furacao and a goalless draw against Danubio, Ameliano racked up four wins in a row, scoring eight goals while keeping three clean sheets.
Since then, though, Pedro Sarabia's side have experienced a major drop off, as they have failed to any of their following seven matches in all competitions, with the most recent being a 3-0 defeat to Trinidense in the league last weekend.
Ameliano are now rooted to the bottom of the Paraguayan Primera Division Clausura standings and are the only team in the division yet to win a match after five gameweeks in the second phase of the season.
Additionally, the visitors have only won one of their last 11 away league matches since March 12 and have failed to score in their last three. They have also never beaten Libertad at Estadio ueno Defensores del Chaco in five previous attempts.
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Team News
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Libertad have just one confirmed absentee for this match in the form of Hector Villalba, who is still on the road to recovery following the cruciate ligament tear he sustained late last season.
Lucas Sanabria received a red card in the loss to Olimpia last weekend, but he should start here alongside veteran attacker Oscar Cardozo, who is the club's top scorer this season.
Like their upcoming opponents, Sportivo Ameliano have one long-term absentee in Franco Ortellado, who is also working his way back to full fitness from a cruciate ligament tear.
Ivan Valdez netted four goals during the group stage of the competition and should return to the attack after being rested for the weekend's trip to Estadio Martin Torres.
Club Libertad possible starting lineup:
Morinigo; Ramirez, Jacquet, Viera, Gimenez; Bareiro, Cardozo, Caballero, Melgarejo; Lezcano, Encina
Sportivo Ameliano possible starting lineup:
Rossi; Gonzalez, Namandu, F Ramirez, Paredes; S Ramirez, Maiz, Bogado, Galeano, Valdez; Dominguez
We say: Club Libertad 2-0 Sportivo Ameliano
While Sportivo Ameliano came through the group stages with flying colours, their form since then has been dismal, particularly in attack, where they have failed to score in four of their last five games.
Libertad have not been at their absolute best in recent weeks either, but their record against this opponent is hard to ignore, and we feel they will secure a first-leg lead in this tie fairly comfortably.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
