Racing Club and Atletico Nacional will complete their battle for a place in the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals on Friday, when they meet in Buenos Aires in the second leg of their round-of-16 tie.
The visitors travel to Argentina with a two-goal lead to defend after picking up a 4-2 victory on home soil last week.
Match preview
© Reuters
On their return to South America's premier competition this season, Racing Club made a strong start in the group stage, kicking off with victories over Nublense and Aucas and a draw with Flamengo to stake their claim to advance to the knockout stage.
La Academia would then further strengthen their position at the summit of Group A with a 2-1 triumph away at Aucas, thanks to goals from Nicolas Reniero and Gabriel Rojas, before suffering a first defeat in the reverse fixture away at Flamengo as they eventually lost 2-1 in Brazil.
Regardless of that setback, the Argentinian outfit went into the final round of games having already sealed a round-of-16 place and with a two-point lead over Flamengo, and they would maintain that and advance in first place in style, thrashing Nublense 4-0 on home turf courtesy of second-half goals from Matias Rojas, Gabriel Hauche, Anibal Moreno and Gonzalo Piovi.
That booked them a round-of-16 tie against Atletico Nacional, and after their Argentine Primera Division season finished in a 2-1 defeat away a River Plate a week earlier, confirming their 12th-placed finish in the first phase, Fernando Gago's side travelled to Colombia for the first leg last Friday and would endure a tough evening, albeit having improved their position late on, as Piovi netted a late brace in an eventual 4-2 defeat.
Now coming into their home fixture with a deficit to overturn, La Academia will be keen to start strongly in the Argentinian capital and put up a dominant display to stand a chance of getting back into the tie and advancing to the quarter-finals.
© Reuters
Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip to Buenos Aires looking to defend the lead they built last week, after advancing through their Copa Libertadores group in second place.
El Verde would make a perfect start to the group stage, putting up victories over Patronato and Melgar and playing out a 2-2 draw at home to Olimpia to sit top on seven points, before confirming their progression with another 1-0 triumph against Melgar, thanks to Danovis Banguero's 88th-minute winner.
After that fine run, William Amaral's side would suffer a 3-0 defeat to Olimpia and lose 1-0 to Patronato in the final round of group games, seeing the former leapfrog them and booking a round-of-16 tie with Racing Club as a result.
By the hour mark of last week's home leg, El Verde had gained a 2-0 lead as Cristian Zapata and Jefferson Duque had got on the scoresheet, and that was extended to three in the 83rd minute by Maximiliano Cantera, before he followed up Piovi's late brace with his second and his side's fourth of the contest in the 95th minute, ensuring they came into the second leg with a two-goal cushion.
Now with spirits high in the camp following that victory and pivotal late goal, and on the back of a 1-1 draw away at Deportivo Cali to continue their unbeaten start to the Categoria Primera A Clausura campaign, Atletico Nacional will look to complete the job on Friday and stay ahead in the tie to book their place in the final eight.
Team News
© Reuters
Racing Club should deploy a similar starting XI to the one that featured in the away leg last week, with Gabriel Hauche, Maximiliano Romero and Nicolas Oroz again set to line up in a front three after key man Matias Rojas departed for Corinthians in mid-July.
One enforced change could come in midfield, after Juan Ignacio Nardoni was forced off with an injury concern, meaning Axel Ojeda will likely come into the midfield alongside Jonatan Gomez and mainstay Anibal Moreno.
Behind them, Gonzalo Piovi, who netted two goals from the penalty spot last week to give his side a lifeline, and Leonardo Sigali will partner up at the heart of the defence, while Gabriel Rojas will look to provide additional attacking support from his left-back role.
Atletico Nacional should also only make minimal changes to their starting XI after the first-leg victory last Friday, although Deportivo Maldonado loanee Maximiliano Cantera certainly has a strong claim to come in from the outset after netting a crucial late brace off the bench in that match.
In a 4-3-3 lineup similar to that of their hosts, the line should again be led by Jefferson Duque, who has netted nine goals in all competitions so far this term, including their second against Racing Club last time out, while winger Dorlan Pabon, who has netted 14 goals this term including six in just four Copa Libertadores group games, will likely remain sidelined.
In his absence, Cantera could join Duque and Neyder Moreno in a front three, while Jhon Duque, Jhon Solis and Nelson Deossa should all keep their places in the engine room, shielding the centre-back pairing of Cristian Zapata and Juan Felipe Aguirre.
Racing Club possible starting lineup:
Tagliamonte; Mura, Piovi, Sigali, Rojas; Gomez, Moreno, Ojeda; Oroz, Romero, Hauche
Atletico Nacional possible starting lineup:
Castillo; Devenish, Aguirre, Zapata, Angulo; Jhon Duque, Solis, Deossa; Cantera, Jefferson Duque, Moreno
We say: Racing Club 3-2 Atletico Nacional (Atletico Nacional win 6-5 on aggregate)
Thanks to their late penalties last week, Racing Club do have a lifeline heading into the second leg with home advantage, and while we do see them causing the visitors problems, we back Atletico Nacional to score a few of their own and just come out on top on aggregate, even if they do not prevail on the night in Buenos Aires.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
