Bucaramanga (Colombia) vs Racing Club (Argentina)
Atlético Bucaramanga earned a valuable point on Matchday 3, drawing 1-1 at home against Fortaleza EC in a hard-fought match. With that result, they remained top of Group E with 5 points. On Saturday, head coach Leonel Álvarez rested most of his starters and the team suffered a 2-1 away defeat to Llaneros FC, dropping to 13th place in the Colombian Apertura standings. Bucaramanga are winless in their last four matches across all competitions (two draws and two losses) and recently ended a five-game unbeaten run at home (three wins and two draws) with a 2-0 loss to Millonarios.
Racing Club also picked up a crucial point in their last Copa Libertadores match, drawing 1-1 away to CSD Colo Colo thanks to an 86th-minute goal from Martín Barrios. La Academia held on to second place in Group E with four points, ahead of Fortaleza EC on goal difference. On Friday, they defeated Newell’s Old Boys 1-0 at home to finish third in Group A of the Argentine Torneo Apertura, with 28 points from 16 matches. Gustavo Costas’ side are unbeaten in their last five games (four wins and one draw), and have taken 10 of the last 12 points available on the road across all competitions.
Every game is important in this tight group, and Racing needs to recover from getting just 1 point in their last 2 games, including a very surprising defeat against this same rival at home. Their attacking power is one of the best in Argentina with top scorer Adrian Martinez but they’ve already struggled against this rival and it could happen again, so this short totals line is definitely worth a bet.