Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Copa Libertadores clash between River Plate and Internacional, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

River Plate take on Internacional in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores round of 16 at the Estadio Monumental on Tuesday evening.

The hosts managed to reach this stage of the competition after finishing second in Group D, while the visitors finished top of Group B.

Match preview

River Plate's Miguel Borja celebrates on June 28, 2023 © Reuters

River Plate acquired 10 points from their six group-stage matches in the Copa Libertadores, meaning they finished second in Group D, behind Fluminense on goal difference, securing their spot in the round of 16 with a 2-0 victory over The Strongest at the end of June.

The Millionaires have won the competition on four previous occasions, most recently doing so in 2018, and they were recently crowned champions of the Argentine Primera Division, collecting 61 points in 27 games, 11 more than second-placed Talleres.

Martin Demichelis's side were extremely dominant in their domestic division, and they head into Tuesday's encounter in reasonably good form, having won three and drawn two of their last five league games, although they did not manage to progress in the Copa Argentina.

River Plate bowed out of their domestic cup at the round of 32 stage, losing 1-0 at home to Cordoba, but they have since managed to bounce back with a victory against Racing Club.

In their last match, the Millionaires ran out 2-1 winners against Racing Club, capping off their Argentine Primera Division campaign with a 12th victory in 13 matches, and they are now tasked with following it up with a victory in the Copa Libertadores.

However, Demichelis's side may have their work cut out, as Internacional have been very impressive in the Copa Libertadores up to this point, finishing top of Group B after winning three and drawing three of their six games.

The Brazilian side have not been as dominant in their domestic league, however, and they are on an extremely poor run of form at the moment, having drawn three and lost two of their last five Serie A games.

Manager Eduardo Coudet is likely to be most concerned by the fact his side have scored just one goal during that time, which came in their last match, but they were unable to take any points at home against Cuiaba.

Internacional took an early lead through Fabricio Bustos, but the visitors equalised just before half time through Raniele, before Deyverson netted a late winner, so a much-improved performance will be needed if they are to take anything from Tuesday's game.

River Plate Copa Libertadores form:

River Plate form (all competitions):

Internacional Copa Libertadores form:

Internacional form (all competitions):

Team News

Internacional coach Eduardo Coudet on July 29, 2023 © Reuters

Having finished second in the Argentina Primera Division goalscoring charts last season, Lucas Beltran is poised to lead the line for River Plate in what could be a 4-2-3-1 system, with Nacho Fernandez supporting from an advanced midfield role.

Demichelis is likely to have a selection dilemma in attack, as Pablo Solari has been in good form, scoring twice in the recent 3-3 draw against Rosario, while Salomon Rondon also scored during his most recent start.

On the other hand, Internacional boss Coudet will be wondering what changes he can make to his side to help improve their terrible recent attacking record, and it would not be a surprise if striker Enner Valencia is dropped, after failing to score in his first four games for the club.

Wanderson could also be brought out of the team, as he is now on a run of seven games without a goal, with Luiz Adriano and Pedro Henrique potentially in line for some rare game time.

River Plate possible starting lineup:
Armani; Casco, Gonzalez, P. Diaz, E. Diaz; Perez, Aliendro, De La Cruz, Fernandez, Barco; Beltran

Internacional possible starting lineup:
Rochet; Bustos, Vitao, Mercado, Rene; Johnny, De Pena, Patrick, Aranguiz; Adriano, Henrique

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We say: River Plate 2-0 Internacional

River Plate were very impressive during their previous Argentine Primera Division season, particularly at home, while Internacional have struggled in recent weeks, despite being dominant in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores.

As such, we expect the hosts to emerge as comfortable winners, building up a strong lead ahead of the second leg in Porto Alegre next week.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.