Velez (Argentina) vs Fortaleza (Brazil)
Vélez Sarsfield earned a valuable result in their visit to Fortaleza EC last Tuesday, drawing 0-0 and even coming close to winning. As a result, they can now advance to the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals with a home victory. On Saturday, fielding many reserves, El Fortín defeated Independiente 2-1 at home to pull further away from the relegation zone, reaching eight points from five Clausura matches. That win also ended a four-match winless run across all competitions (three draws and one loss). At home, Vélez are unbeaten in six straight games, with four wins and two draws. Emanuel Mammana and Agustín Bouzat have recovered from their injuries and are available.
Fortaleza EC failed to make the most of their home advantage and had to settle for a lackluster 0-0 draw against Vélez Sarsfield last week, leaving them with everything to fight for in Buenos Aires. On Saturday, the team fell 2-1 away to Fluminense FC and remain second-to-last in the Brasileirão table with 15 points from 19 matches. O Leão have not won any of their last five official matches (two draws and three defeats). Away from home, they are winless in 12 straight games (five draws and seven losses).
Velez was a lot better than Fortaleza last week and should have won at Brazil, so I would be surprised if they can’t win and advance at home against this poor brazilian team that will miss Marinho in attack and Kuscevic in defense among other starters that are also injured.