Lanus can bag a vital goal out of thin air

Copa Libertadores last-16 first leg
11.15pm Thursday

Lanus have their work cut out getting a good result up in the Bolivian heavens but they are capable enough of snatching a crucial away goal in the first leg of their last-16 Copa Libertadores clash.

The Strongest live up their name at the Estadio Hernando Siles, a ground 12,000 feet above sea level and banned for big events by Fifa once upon a time because it's simply too airless up there to play.

It gives Cesar Farias's men a massive edge and they know it, though the onus is on them to make that advantage count with a trip to Buenos Aires to come in the return.

The hosts are long odds-on and understandably so, though they look too short for a bet. Instead, take the reigning Argentinian champions to score, something that both Sporting Cristal and Santos managed at the Hernando Siles in the group stage.

And Lanus scored in all three of their away games in their group campaign, in which they bagged seven points out of nine on the road.

In good form at home – they've lost only one of their last nine league games after a sticky start to the season – Jorge Almiron has taken his best squad with him to La Paz, minus injured defender Marcelo Herrera.

Almiron has been frustrated to not be able to add to his squad since the group stage but it means it's a settled group of players, who generally travel well.

Recommendation
Lanus over 0.5 goals
1pt 21-20 Coral, Ladbrokes