Atlas Try to Get Points in Argentina Again.

By: Mauro | April 29th, 2008

Club Atlético Lanús vs. F.C. Atlas A.C.(Estadio Lanús ‘La Fortaleza’, Lanús, Buenos Aires, Argentina)
LIVE @ 4:00pm on Fox Sports Español

This match kicks off the stage of this tournament that separates the men from the boys. Woo hoo!!!!

Lanús comes into this match undefeated. They had two wins and four draws in the group stage. At home though, Lanús have had mixed results. Not too overpowering but not pushovers either. Look for Jose Sand and Diego Valeri to be the difference makers in this one. Lanús lost a few key players in the group stage but are now back to a full strength side. A good thing for Lanús since it’s no secret that they are not the deepest team in Argentina.

Atlas, on the other hand, has had a single loss, but only as the visiting team. They lost at Boca, good news for Lanús, but managed draws in their other two away matches. Atlas will have some slightly fresher legs on the pitch tonight as they had rested Diego Colotto, Bruno Marioni, Luis Enrique Robles, Omar Flores and Eduardo Rergis from this past weekend’s match against Mexican side San Luis. To reinforce thier side for this tournament, Atlas has signed Brazilian player Danilo Vergne who had a spell with the ‘rojinegros’ in 2005 and 2006. Also, Atlas has removed Hebert Alferez, Roberto Vargas and Jorge Daniel Achucarro from their CONMEBOL list, all due to injuries. Achucarro suffered an ACL tear in his knee and should be out for at least 6 months.

Another interesting note is that neither of these two coaches have ever faced each other as coaches. But as players it’s a different story. According to the CONMEBOL website, they faced off four times as players. Cabrero won only once, Brindisi twice and they tied once.

Bottom Line: Atlas are tough to beat. Period. They have two draws away from home and only one loss so far in this tournament. Lanús are also a tough squad at home but not invincible and since this one is for all the marbles I think they’ll show up and play tough. My pick: 2-1 to Lanús. Lanús will win but Atlas will pick up a very important away goal that could help them qualify at home in the return leg.

Check the CONMEBOL website for results, stats and upcoming matches.