River Plate v Cruzeiro: Copa Libertadores betting preview & free tip

11.15pm Tuesday

The Copa Libertadores enters the knockout stage this evening and a tight contest is expected as reigning champions River Plate clash with Brazilian heavyweights Cruzeiro in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

The Argentines defeated domestic rivals Boca Juniors in last season’s final in a match that had to be moved to Madrid after crowd violence in the build-up to the second leg but injuries to some of last term’s heroes mean a low-scoring encounter could be on the cards.

They qualified for the knockout stage comfortably after finishing unbeaten in the group stage but had to settle for second place behind another Brazilian side, Internacional, after drawing four of their six games.

Cruzeiro won their first five games to top their section with ease, but have only won once inside 90 minutes in their last 13 games since the culmination of the group stage in May.

Goals have been hard to come by as they’ve failed to score in their last three matches and have scored only nine times in 11 league games to sit 16th in Brazil’s Serie A.

Their attacking options have been further depleted with the news that veteran striker Fred, who top-scored for them in the group stage with four goals, has not travelled with the squad due to injury.

While the Brazilians may be lacking in confidence they do at least have the advantage of having been in regular competitive action.

The Argentinian Primera Division does not start until next weekend and Marcelo Gallardo’s side looked rusty in their first competitive outing since May. They needed penalties to defeat Gimnasia Mendoza from the division below in the Copa Argentina last week.

Lucas Pratto, who scored in both legs of last season’s final, is expected to be fit for the bench as he continues his recovery from a back injury while winger Juan Fernando Quintero, who also scored against Boca, is out with a cruciate injury.

With goals expected to be at a premium the draw looks overpriced in what could be a cagey first leg.

Recommendation
Draw and under 2.5 goals
1pt 3-1 Bet365

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