Once Caldas
- Once Caldas are unbeaten in five matches across all competitions (W2, D3) and have conceded one goal in their last three home Primera A games.
- Once Caldas are the in-form team, having won two and drawn three of their last five in all competitions, the most recent result being a gritty 1-0 victory over high-flying and in-form Atlético Nacional.
- Hernán Darío Herrera’s side are a lot more pragmatic and their home at Palogrande is a fortress, proving very tough to beat over the last few months.
Junior de Barranquilla
- Junior de Barranquilla finished the 2026 Liga phase in second place (35 points from 19 games), two points ahead of Once Caldas (5th, 33).
- Junior have also had a high-scoring season, racking up goals and conceding them in an open and attractive style of football.
- Junior’s squad is deeper and they have the home advantage in the return leg, so the tie remains quite balanced, but we feel the home crowd and recent victory over them should give Once Caldas an extra confidence boost for this clash.
Once Caldas
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Veteran forward Dayro Moreno remains the heartbeat of this side and is the only man capable of producing a moment of magic to unlock a compact defence, while creative midfielders Andrés Roa and Luis Sánchez provide him with the supply line.
- Dayro Moreno
- Andrés Roa
- Luis Sánchez
Junior de Barranquilla
- Júnior’s famous front three of Luis Fernando Muriel, Teófilo Gutiérrez and Carlos Bacca provide the firepower, but veteran goalkeeper Mauro Silveira will also play a key role in this tie, especially as Arias rotates his defence and midfielders.
- Luis Fernando Muriel
- Teófilo Gutiérrez
- Carlos Bacca
- Mauro Silveira
Betting Insights
- The bookies make Once Caldas slight favourites for this first leg at 2.09, with Junior de Barranquilla 3.43 and the draw 3.3, which we feel is a little generous to the visitors and it is hard to see them getting anything from this match-up.
- The second and fifth placed finishers in the 2026 Primera A regular season will meet in a tense and competitive quarterfinal playoff where the aggregate goals and points will decide the winner, with penalties the last resort if all tied after the second leg.
- There is a lot at stake here and the betting suggests both teams to score is the favorite selection, but we will take a chance on under 2.5 goals at 1.86 to sneak through as the wet and slippery conditions in Manizales should suit Once Caldas’ physical style more than Júnior’s tempo-driven attacking play.
Prediction
Once Caldas are the form team and we will side with them to edge a cagey and low-scoring first leg.
