The final matchday in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores will see Cerro Porteno and Colo-Colo face off at Estadio Ueno La Nueva Olla on Thursday morning.
Only Fluminense have secured their place in the round of 16 from group A while both these sides and bottom-club Alianza Lima are still able to join the Brazilian outfit in the knockout stage.
Match preview
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Group A has proven to be the most difficult to predict in this competition, and with just one game left to play, Cerro Porteno are currently in second place, albeit in unusual circumstances.
The Paraguayan Primera Division side are not only level with this opponent on five points each, but both also have an identical goal difference, scored the same number of goals overall and in away games, which are the first three tie-breakers in the competition respectively.
Manolo Jimenez's side, therefore, have the advantage in the group standings owing to their superior CONMEBOL ranking of 19th, which is seven places above Colo-Colo in the 26th spot.
El Ciclon lost their Copa Libertadores fixture 2-1 to Fluminense a couple of weeks ago, which extended their current winless run in the competition to three matches. Their only victory to date was against Alianza Lima at home on matchday two.
Still, the hosts are unbeaten at Estadio Ueno La Nueva Olla in the continental tournament but were beaten 1-0 by this opponent when they made the trip to Macul for their opening day fixture at the start of April.
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While Colo-Colo are currently sat in third in the group, they are still in with a decent chance of progressing to the next round and are entering this match carrying solid momentum.
They earned a commanding 3-0 win over Deportes Iquique over the weekend, where their new signing and former Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal bagged his third goal of the season in nine games before Guillermo Paiva and Marco Bolados got their names on the scoresheets to secure the points.
That result marked Jorge Almiron's side's fourth match unbeaten (W3 D1 L0), with the sole draw in that period coming against Alianza Lima in this competition on matchday five two weeks ago.
Colo-Colo will overtake Cerro Porteno into second place with a victory but they will also be able to move up the rankings with a score-draw as that would give them three away goals in the competition, one more than the Paraguayan side.
However, a draw between these sides in this match will also leave the door open for Alianza Lima, who are just one point behind and can sneak in at the death if they pull off a victory against Fluminense.
Team News
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The hosts will remain without the services of central defensive duo Lucas Quintana and Bruno Valdez, both of whom are facing extended periods on the sidelines with cruciate ligament tears.
Midfielder Jorge Morel and striker Wilder Viera Caballero were withdrawn moments after the interval in the side's victory over Tacuary at the weekend, and both players are flagged as doubts for this match.
The visitors will have to make do without Damian Pizarro and Vidal for their midweek trip to Asuncion, with both players currently suspended after being sent off against Alianza Lima last time out.
Cesar Fuentes sustained a cruciate ligament tear back in March and is only expected to return to first-team action in mid-October. Gonzalo Castellani, Leonardo Gil and Bolados are most likely to make up the midfield trio in this one.
Cerro Porteno possible starting lineup:
Jean; Benitez, Baez, Lopez, Arzamendia; Diaz, Piris, Carrizo, Dominguez; Caballero, Churin
Colo-Colo possible starting lineup:
Cortes; Opazo, Saldivia, Falcon, Weinberg; Gil, Castellani, Bolados, Zavala, Paiva, Palacios
We say: Cerro Porteno 1-0 Colo-Colo
Both sides come into this match with good recent form, but the hosts have proven very difficult to beat on their home patch of late and are yet to concede at Estadio Ueno La Nueva Olla in this competition.
We are expecting a very evenly contested match-up here and feel that the first goal will likely end up being the winner.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
