Atletico Paranaense v Boca Juniors: Copa Libertadores betting preview & tip

1.30am Thursday

Boca Juniors were runners-up to fierce rivals River Plate in last year's Copa Libertadores and they face a tough assignment against the reigning Copa Sudamericana champions Atletico Paranaense in the first knockout round of this year's competition as they aim to go one step better.

The sides go head to head again after meeting in the group stage, when Boca finished top after a 94th minute Carlos Tevez strike handed them a 2-1 win against Atletico in the final game.

The Brazilians finished on nine points after losing all three of their away games but are a different animal on their synthetic pitch at home where they won all three, scoring eight goals and conceding none.

They will know importance of taking a first-leg lead back to Argentina and will take confidence from their comprehensive 3-0 win over Boca at the Arena da Baixada, where striker Marco Ruben bagged a hat-trick.

Unlike Boca, whose domestic league campaign doesn't start until next week, they have been in domestic action recently and after back-to-back wins they lie seventh in Brazil's Serie A.

Once again they are reliant on their home record - they've won four out of five games compared to only one out of six on the road.

Boca haven't played a competitive game for seven weeks and have been warming up for this tie with friendlies against Club America, CD Guadalajara and Tijuana.

Absences to centre backs Carlos Izquierdoz and Lisandro Lopez mean they could be vulnerable in this first leg, but with Mauro Zarate, who scored four in the group stage up front, and Tevez likely to be used as an impact sub, they can play their part in an entertaining tie.

Recommendation
Atletico Paranaense to win & over 2.5 goals
1pt 10-3 Betway, Paddy Power

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