Chilean club Universidad de Chile welcome Paraguayans Club Guarani to the 50,000-seater National Stadium in Santiago for the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana knockout playoff on Thursday night.

The hosts have dropped into this competition from the Copa Libertadores, and are therefore, unsurprisingly, the favourites to progress to the last 16.

Match preview

It was heartbreak for Universidad in the group stage of the Libertadores, as they entered the final matchday top of their group on 10 points, one ahead of both Estudiantes and their opponents Botafogo.

Estudiantes made little work of Carabobo and qualified, but despite playing against 10 men for over an hour, Universidad were beaten 1-0 by reigning champions Botafogo when a draw would have been enough, and ultimately saw them fall to third, dropping them into the Sudamericana.

Gustavo Alvarez’s men have remained in good form despite that blow though, beating O’Higgins 6-0 a few days later, and they have won three in a row heading into this clash, despite having a man sent off in all of them.

La U did suffer elimination in the domestic cup, but their title prospects remain strong, sitting third, one point off the summit, while Libertadores qualification awaits once again.

Focus will be on the Sudamericana for now though, even though they are not highly-fancied to go far, despite their strong showing in a tough group in the Libertadores.

Guarani stand in their way of a last-16 berth, but the Chileans were victorious when the two went head-to-head in Libertadores qualifying back in 2014, as Universidad won both legs and progressed 4-2 on aggregate.

Like their opponents, Guarani were all set to win their respective group after a strong start saw them take eight points from their first four games, and they led Independiente by two points heading into matchday five.

However, Francisco Arce’s men were beaten by the Argentines, and were then thrashed 5-0 at home by Boston River, which led to his sacking.

Victor Bernay has now been tasked with guiding the club through this playoff round, and improving on their underwhelming continental record in recent years, which has seen them go no further than the last 16 in any competition since their semi-final run in the Libertadores in 2015.

Guarani sit third in the annual table in Paraguay, but the Clausura section only began at the start of the month, and after beating 2 de Mayo in their opening fixture, Bernay’s men fell to defeat away to Nacional Asuncion at the weekend.

Universidad de Chile form (all competitions):

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Guarani Copa Sudamericana form:

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Guarani form (all competitions):

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Team News

Matias Zaldivia will be available again for Universidad after he missed their defeat away to Botafogo on matchday six of the Libertadores through a mistimed suspension.

Marcelo Diaz, Lucas Di Yorio and Rodrigo Contreras have all been sent off in La U’s last three league outings, but they will all be available for this one, and are likely to play some part.

Veteran Charles Aranguiz is set for his 58th continental appearance in South American football, which is an impressive feat considering he spent a decade in Europe, and he is in form, having got both goals in their win over the weekend.

Agustin Manzur, who recently made his international debut for Palestine, will be one to watch for the visitors due to his creative spark, as he registered three assists in five appearances during the group stage.

Guarani are now without their top scorer from the groups though, as centre-back Gustavo Vargas, who netted three goals, has left for Olimpia on a free transfer in the past few weeks.

Derlis Rodriguez has arrived from Cerro Porteno to bolster their attack though, and even though he is yet to open his account, he has started in both league games since his signing.

Universidad de Chile possible starting lineup:

Castellon; Hormazabal, Ramirez, Zaldivia; Poblete, Diaz, Altamirano, Aranguiz, Sepulveda; Contreras, Di Yorio

Guarani possible starting lineup:

M Rodriguez, Benitez, Lopez, Servin, Maidana; Gomez, Mendieta, D Fernandez, Manzur, D Rodriguez; F Fernandez

We say: Universidad de Chile 2-0 Guarani

Both clubs suffered heartache at the end of their group stage campaigns, but by dropping down from a tough Libertadores group, Universidad should find this less demanding, especially against a side who lost 5-0 at home in their last continental outing.

The hosts are also in excellent form, having won three in a row heading into this one, while Guarani will want to bounce back from a defeat at the weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Andrew Delaney

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