Independiente Petrolero (Bolivia) – Racing (Argentina)
Independiente Petrolero, with 94 years of history, are making their international debut in this Copa Sudamericana. They qualified after finishing sixth in the 2025 Bolivian league and, in the national phase of this competition, defeated Guabirá on penalties following a goalless draw at home. On Friday, they suffered a 3–0 home defeat to Nacional Potosí on Matchday 1 of the 2026 División Profesional. That result ended a three-match unbeaten run in official competitions (two wins and one draw in regular time). Independiente have won only one of their last four home matches (one draw and two losses). Racing Club, who finished fifth in the overall table of the 2025 Argentine league, return to the Copa Sudamericana after their glorious 2024 campaign, when they were crowned champions by defeating Cruzeiro EC in the final. They arrive off a major recent disappointment: last Saturday, they suffered a 1–0 away defeat to archrivals Independiente in an intense Avellaneda derby. That result ended two unbeaten runs — nine matches in all competitions (six wins and three draws) and five away games without defeat (three wins and two draws). Racing needs to bounce back from their defeat in the derby vs Independiente last weekend and what a better way to do it than winning here against this inexperienced bolivian team that will debut in this competition. Racing is definitely a few steps ahead here, there’s no altitude factor in Sucre where the game will be played, so I expect an away win.