- Team form: Boca Juniors are unbeaten in five matches, winning the last three.
- Recent form: Barcelona SC have won two, drawn two and lost one of their last five matches.
- Away form: Barcelona SC have one win and one draw in their last two away games (W1, D1).
Argentine powerhouse to pile pressure on Barcelona
Match context
Boca Juniors are 1.42 favorites to win this Wednesday’s Copa Libertadores Group D match at home to a Barcelona SC Guayaquil that currently sit bottom of the section on no points after one game. Boca Juniors are sitting pretty in first with three points after their opening round win at Universidad Catolica and are in good form overall, having won their last three games in all competitions and avoided defeat in their previous five.
Tactical setup
Claudio Ubeda has instilled a well-organised, possession-based system on the side that likes to set the tempo of games, overload the center of the park and use the width of their full-backs in the final third to unlock defenses. In Lautaro Blanco, Boca have a creative influence that can create space and chances for others, as he showed by providing the assist for one of their goals against the Chilean side.
Barcelona to keep it tight and hope to nick a goal
Barcelona SC Guayaquil have had a mixed bag of results in their opening fixtures, losing 1-0 at home to Cruzeiro MG in their Copa Libertadores opener, then beating Leones Del Norte 2-1 in their first league game at the weekend.
Segundo Castillo’s team favour a more reactive set-up, playing with a narrow, compact block, ceding possession and looking to be disciplined in their defense and sharp on the counterattack. Their counterattacking ability is not as strong as Boca’s though, so they will have to be well-drilled to avoid getting caught out by the Argentine giants.
- Backing both teams to score no, at 1.48, looks a solid wager on this match as Boca should be able to break through the visitors’ defence and get a few goals in front of their home fans, while Barcelona have been resilient on the road, with 1 win and 1 draw in their last two away games.
- Over 2.5 total goals, at 2.25, is also supported as both teams may have enough of a goal threat to push this over the line and there could be a few more chances at both ends if Boca have to make a push to win the game late on.
