Independiente Medellin
- Independiente Medellin will try to set the pace in Group A with a home victory in this clash.
- Alejandro Restrepo, who has guided Medellin through the qualifiers, prefers to keep his side compact in defense, pressing in an orderly fashion and making quick transitions into the attack.
- Restrepo’s approach has worked well in home territory as Medellin have shown great grit to scrape through their qualifiers.
- Their form in the Colombian Primera A, however, has been mixed with 17 points from 14 matches leaving them in mid-table.
Estudiantes de la Plata
- Estudiantes de la Plata are near the top of the Argentine Liga Profesional with 21 points from 11 matches.
- Estudiantes are a streaky team with two wins and three defeats in their last five matches across all competitions.
- Estudiantes’ 5-0 win over Central Córdoba in their recent run of games is a good indicator of the level they can play when all the pieces come together.
Head-to-Head
The three defeats were narrow, but they will like their chances to make a statement with a victory in this first-ever CONMEBOL Libertadores encounter between the two clubs.
Independiente Medellin
- Baldomero Perlaza provides the engine in the midfield, while Yony González and Francisco Fydriszewski move into wide areas, where Medellin have been effective but not always prolific in domestic play.
- Salvador Ichazo is an experienced goalkeeper who can keep a clean sheet and keep his team in position to defend set pieces.
Estudiantes de La Plata
- Estudiantes de La Plata’s attack is spearheaded by Adolfo Gaich, who scored a hat-trick in their 5-0 win over Central Córdoba.
- Fabricio Iacovich provides stability in goal, while Facundo Farías and Fabricio Pérez push Estudiantes’ attacks forward and create the central overload that is key to Domínguez’s 4-3-3 system.
Betting Insights
Back a home win with over 2.5 goals and both teams to score , but take the shorter odds on the home victory here as this is more likely to come about as a consequence of an open game.
Prediction
Independiente are unlikely to hold Estudiantes off for the full 90 minutes, but they should get their share of chances in a high-tempo game that could become a little more physical if the thunderstorms forecast for Medellin on Thursday evening make the Atanasio Girardot a bit slippy.
