Nacional Face Cagey Cienciano in Montevideo.

Club Nacional de Football vs. Club Cienciano del Cuzco (Estadio Parque Central, Montevideo, Uruguay)
LIVE at 3:30pm, Wednesday the 23rd, on Fox Sports Español.

Nacional can advance with a draw against Cienciano tonight. Nacional are riding high this week with their 6-3 win this past weekend over River Plate which, in turn, earned them the spot on top of the league. Unfortunately, Richard “Chengue” Morales, the squad’s heart, soul and on field captain, came away from that match with a light sprain in his knee. Should he not be able to play, Diego Vera will come on in his place.

Up until now, Nacional have won all the points in play at the Estadio Centenario. In the away trip of this match, Cienciano beat Nacional 2-1 in Cusco in week one action. Nacional managed one away win, against Bolognesi, 1-0.

Cienciano are only a win away from equaling Flamengo, so not all is said and done in this group either. Despite getting their ass handed to them in week 9 action Cienciano are not out of the competition yet. These guys seem to be the Michael Myers of the group. You beat them, and you really, truly believe they are done, but they come back or are not far behind in the standings before you have to face them again.

Cienciano’s coach rested his best players at the weekend with this match in mind. Still, Cienciano won their league match 1-0 over Alianza Atlético. They are coming off a grim home loss to group leaders Flamengo, where they lost 3-0.

Bottom Line: Nacional are the home team and could play to a draw, given they are pumped about their win at the weekend, I think it will be pretty hard to stop them. Cienciano’s dreams are over after this match. Their campaign ends here. My pick: 3-1 to Nacional.

Check the CONMEBOL website for Group 4 standings and results.

Category: Tournament News

Tags: Cienciano, Copa Libertadores, Coronel Bolognesi, Flamengo, Nacional de Montevideo, Tournament News

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