It’s decision time! It’s a kill! Athletico welcomes Palmeiras, this Tuesday, at 21:30 (Brasília time), at Arena da Baixada, for the first leg of the Copa Libertadores semifinal.
Hurricane ranked second in Group B, with ten points, with the same score as leader Libertad. The Strongest and Caracas completed with six points each. In the round of 16, Athletico and Libertad faced each other again, with Atletico’s 2-1 victory in Baixada and a 1-1 draw at Defensores Del Chaco. In the quarterfinals, the team drew goalless at home with Estudiantes and won 1-0 in La Plata.
For the game soon, Luiz Felipe Scolari will make a certain change and has two doubts for the confrontation. Felipão decided to put midfielder Alex Santana in place of attacking midfielder David Terans, in a formation with three midfielders. In the attack, Cuello, Vitinho, Vitor Roque and Pablo are vying for two spots.
Verdão was the leader of Libertadores Group A, with 18 points, against Emelec (eight points), Deportivo Táchara (seven points), and Independiente Petrolero (one point). In the round of 16, they beat Cerro Porteño 3-0 (away) and 5-0 (home). The most difficult duel was against Atlético-MG in the quarterfinals, with two draws (2-2 and 0-0) and classification on penalties (6-5) at Allianz.
Without Danilo and Gustavo Scarpa, who are suspended for having been sent off in the decisive game of the quarterfinals, Palmeiras will have two changes for tonight’s match. Gabriel Menino should be Danilo’s replacement in midfield.
The big question is in attack. Abel Ferreira has two options for Gustavo Scarpa’s vacancy: select Wesley and keep Rony as a centre-forward, or put Argentine López as a reference and move Rony to act as a winger. The tendency is for Wesley to start the match. Bruno Tabata runs outside.
Athletico-PR X Palmeiras Retrospect
At first, the teams have already faced each other in 58 matches. In this way, the visitors have the advantage, with 28 wins, 12 losses and 28 draws.
Both Teams Score: No
So it must be a truncated game. In this way, the team that sins the least should win this match.
Under 2.5 Goals
Beforehand, it must be a game with a low number of goals. Thus, teams must have a special focus on defense.
