However, while the visitors can move six points ahead of their next opponents, Santos will move back into the mix with victory at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium.

Match preview

Santos and Boca Juniors players clash during half time of their Copa Libertadores semi-final in January 2021 © Reuters

With these two clubs having reached the last four in the 2020 edition of this tournament, it was perceived that they would cruise through to the knockout stages once again.

However, with both teams already suffering defeat at the hands of Barcelona SC, Santos and Boca Juniors need to perform strongly during the second half of Group C.

Having gotten revenge on Santos in the reverse fixture on April 28, Boca find themselves in the better position, but they can ill-afford another setback on Tuesday.

The Argentine giants would have been satisfied with a point at Barcelona on matchday three, but they ultimately succumbed to a second-half effort from Carlos Garces.

Although Santos started with two defeats in a row, their ruthless 5-0 win against The Strongest has given them momentum ahead of playing host to their rivals.

The response was necessary for Fernando Diniz with his squad having gone four matches without a victory in the Paulista A1.

While changes to the team have been made for that competition, Diniz will want more players to follow in the footsteps of youngster Kaio Jorge, who netted twice in the 3-2 defeat at Palmieras.

At a time when Santos have had problems in the cup, Boca lost out to Patronato in the league on Saturday, leaving them nine points adrift of early pacesetters Velez Sarsfield.

Santos Copa Libertadores form:

Santos form (all competitions):

Boca Juniors Copa Libertadores form:

Boca Juniors form (all competitions):

Team News

Boca Juniors manager Miguel Angel Russo pictured on January 2, 2021 © Reuters

Miguel Angel Russo will consider handing a recall to Carlos Tevez after the veteran forward was dropped to the substitutes' bench last time out.

The 37-year-old may replace Franco Soldano down the middle of the attack, while Cristian Medina is an option ahead of Alan Varela in midfield.

Santos had effectively sealed the three points against The Strongest by half time, allowing Diniz to rest players.

The Brazilian outfit could line up with the same XI, forcing Jorge to remain patient among the replacements.

Eighteen-year-old Kevin Malthus scored in the last match, but he will almost certainly be named as a substitute.

Santos possible starting lineup:
Paulo; Para, Kaiky, Peres, Jonatan; Mota, Vinicius, Pirani; Marinho, Leonardo, Braga

Boca Juniors possible starting lineup:
Rossi; Buffarini, Lopez, Izquierdoz, Mas; Capaldo, Vareia, Jara; Pavon, Tevez, Obando

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We say: Santos 1-1 Boca Juniors

Having prevailed in the reverse fixture, Boca do not necessarily have to push for maximum points from this game. With that in mind, we are backing a competitive draw between two of South America's top sides, a result which will only favour the visitors.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 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.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Santos win with a probability of 41.67%. A win for Boca Juniors had a probability of 32.21% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.

The most likely scoreline for a Santos win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.28%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.76%) and 2-0 (7.25%). The likeliest Boca Juniors win was 0-1 (8.8%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.42%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 10.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Santos in this match.