River and Racingwho are faced with Colo Colo of Chili and Athletico Paranaense of Brazilrespectively, arrive sharpened to their series of Libertadores Cup and South American Cup after achieving some good victories last weekend.
Lanuswho will have to deal with Independent of Medellin of Colombiais causing a worrying drought at the local level.
How River, Racing and Lanús reach the quarter-finals and their rivals:
River: The Núñez team is going through a turbulent few months after the departure of Martín Demichelis and the return of Marcelo Gallardo as technical director.
In their last match, they showed their best form since Gallardo’s arrival and beat Atlético Tucumán 4-1 at El Monumental.
This victory also allowed them to climb the Professional League table, where they occupy ninth place.
As for the Libertadores, they had a very good group stage (they qualified first with 16 points) and in the round of 16 they eliminated Talleres de Córdoba by beating them in both the first and second leg.
Colo Colo: The Chilean team, led by Argentine Miguel Almirón, will be River’s rival in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores and is in great form in the local league, where it has won its last four matches.
Despite this good run, they cannot close the gap on the leader, Universidad de Chile, which has seven more points.
In their last match, they suffered a tough defeat against Magallanes in the Copa Chile. In the round of 16 of the Libertadores, they won the series against Junior from Colombia with a resounding 3-1.
Racing: They are emboldened by their great 2-1 victory over Boca in the Professional League, which allowed them to stay six points behind the leader, Vélez, and climb to third place.
With Gustavo Costas as coach, they managed to turn a match around for the first time in a year and a half and want to reach the semi-finals of a continental tournament for the first time since 1997.
In the Sudamericana, they are on the more complicated side of the draw since in the quarterfinals they have to face Athletico Paranaense and in the semis they would play against another Brazilian team (Fortaleza or Corinthians).
Athletico Paranaense: Racing’s rival in the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana is going through a difficult time, having won only one of its last five matches (and in that match it was eliminated on penalties from the Copa de Brasil).
They are having a difficult season in the Brasileirao, where they are thirteenth, just five points away from relegation.
However, despite its current situation, it is one of the teams with the best project in the squad and will represent a real threat to the team from Avellaneda.
Lanus: He already knows what it’s like to win the Copa Sudamericana (he did it in 2013, with a great campaign under the guidance of the Barros Schelotto twins) and he wants to repeat that feat.
The team led by Ricardo Zielinski had a great group stage and in the round of 16 they convincingly beat Liga de Quito, the last champion of the Sudamericana, but at home they are suffering from a worrying drought of wins.
Independent of Medellin: The Colombian team, which will face Lanús for a place in the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana, is sixteenth in the Colombian League, although it still has a couple of games to play and, if it gets good results, it could join the fight for the top spot.
When do the Argentine teams play?
- Colo Colo-River (Libertadores Cup): Tuesday at 9:30 p.m.
- Lanus-Independiente de Medellín (Copa Sudamericana): Wednesday at 9:30 p.m.
- Athletico Paranaense-Racing (Copa Sudamericana): Thursday at 9:30 p.m.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
