Independiente del Valle will welcome Lanus to Ecuador on Thursday for the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana round-of-16 tie.
The visitors booked their place in the final 16 by finishing at the top of their group, while their hosts find themselves in South America's secondary competition after dropping out of the Copa Libertadores group stage.
Match preview
After triumphing in the Ecuadorian top flight last season with a 4-2 aggregate win over Emelec in the final, Independiente del Valle earned an automatic place in the Copa Libertadores group stage.
They began on the front foot with a win over America Mineiro and draws against Deportes Tolima and Brazilian champions Atletico Mineiro but would then see their progression hopes take a hit following a defeat to Tolima.
A second straight loss on their trip to Atletico Mineiro left Los Negriazules trailing second spot by three points, and, despite picking up another convincing win over America Mineiro, they were unable to leapfrog Deportes Tolima and instead found themselves dropping into the Copa Sudamericana.
Following that exit, Martin Anselmi's men will hope to keep their hopes of continental success alive by taking a lead in the home leg of their round-of-16 tie on Thursday.
They take on a Lanus side who will look to go further in the continent's secondary competition after topping their group.
The Argentinian side began with a draw away at Metropolitanos before winning 3-1 at home to Barcelona SC to quickly put themselves in the fight for the one available place in the knockout stage.
Their claim was strengthened with a victory over Santiago Wanderers before a trip to Barcelona SC ended in a 1-1 draw.
A loss in their reverse fixture against Santiago Wanderers left the Granate with work to do in the final round of fixtures, as they only led Barcelona on goal difference, but they triumphed in a 1-0 win over Metropolitanos thanks to Diego Braghieri's goal to book a place in the round of 16.
Now on the back of a mixed run of domestic form that has left them 19th in the Argentinian top flight after five games, Jorge Almiron will hope for a positive result on their travels before welcoming Independiente del Valle to Buenos Aires.
- W
- L
- L
- W
- D
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- D
- D
- L
- W
- L
Team News
Independiente del Valle should continue to line up in a 3-4-3 system, with Jonathan Bauman set to lead the line, having hit five goals so far this season.
Junior Sornoza is another key man going forward, with the Ecuadorian international netting five goals in their six Copa Libertadores group games.
Elsewhere, Mateo Carabajal, Luis Segovia and Richard Schunke should again line up in a back three in front of stopper Moises Ramirez.
Lanus centre-back Matias Perez and full-back Brian Aguilar were both sent off in their recent league defeat to River Plate, but they will be eligible to feature on Thursday with their suspension instead carried over to the next domestic outing.
Top scorer Jose Manuel Lopez will depart the club for Palmeiras in July and could remain out of the squad until then as a result.
In his absence, veteran Jose Sand will continue to be relied upon going forward, having scored five goals in 18 appearances this season.
Independiente del Valle possible starting lineup:
Ramirez; Carabajal, Segovia, Schunke; Perlaza, Pellerano, Ortiz, Quintero; Gaibor, Bauman, Sornoza
Lanus possible starting lineup:
Monetti; Di Placido, Perez, Braghieri, Pasquini; Aguirre, Belmonte, Loaiza, Acosta; Sand, Varaldo
We say: Independiente del Valle 2-1 Lanus
After only narrowly missing out on the Copa Libertadores knockout stage, Independiente del Valle have a point to prove and will aim to go ahead on home turf, and we back them to take a narrow lead into the away leg in what should be a tight contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
