Preview of tonight’s matches/TV coverage, 04/02/08

By: Mauro | April 2nd, 2008

Club Atletico Lanús vs. Estudiantes de La Plata (Estadio Lanús (La Fortaleza), Lanus-Buenos Aires, Argentina) on FSE @ 3:30pm PST.

Both teams are deeply affected by injuries, more so Lanús who have a handful of their most important players recovering from different injuries. Estudiantes will be missing their talisman so far in this competition, Juan Sebastian Veron. Despite this, Estudiantes’ faithful have bought up all their alloted tickets and are expecting a good show from their team.

With an Estudiantes win, the team from La Plata get a little closer to qualifying for the next round. While an away win for Estudiantes is not really plausible since their spiritual and on the field leader, Veron, is not completely recovered from his knee injury.

With a Lanús win, they affirm their chances of advancing and defend their home field. It won’t be easy though, they are missing quite a few important pieces to their team but have not completely fallen apart. Their last

Bottom line: Lanús must win in order to stay in the fight for qualification and take advantage of their home status as this is their last home game of the round. My pick: This is a draw. 1-1. Lanús have no bite without certain players and without Veron, Estudiantes can’t manage another away win, especially against another Argentine side.

Fluminense vs. Libertad (Estadio Maracaná, Rio de Janiero, Brazil) No TV.

Flu is anxious to finally qualify for the second round especially since (one of my cinderella picks) LDU Quito have already sewn up their spot in the next round. Standing in their way is 2006’s cinderella team, Libertad. Libertad have not been very good and managed to make Arsenal look good which is not an easy feat given that Arsenal’s goal difference is -11. Surprisingly enough, this could be the first time Fluminense qualify for the second round of the Copa Libertadores. So the fans, the club directors and players will want to win tonight to finally put that curse to bed.

Bottom line: Flu should trample Libertad and equal LDU Quito’s points total in this group and qualify tonight. At the same time, Libertad will say goodbye to this tournament just as Arsenal did a week ago. My pick: 4-1 to Flu.

Sao Paulo vs. Sportivo Luqueño (Estadio Morumbi, Sao Paulo, Brazil) on FSE on tape delay @ 11pm PST.

Another return leg match that smells of a revenge match. In their prior match two weeks ago, Sportivo Luqueño were able to get a late goal to tie their match at home vs. Sao Paulo. This gave them an important point and allowed them to dream of qualifying. Sao Paulo are not going to have Aloisio who scored a magnificent header against Sportivo two weeks ago, but they will have Adriano and Borges available for tonight, who both have shown a scoring prowess this season. Tonight we will be seeing Carlos Mereles suit up for Luqueño who has been out for the last four weeks.

A Sao Paulo win would give them some space from the rest of the group and consolidate their claim to the team leadership of Group 7. A Luqeuño win would give the visitors temporary leadership of the group but the truth is, this would be a major coup should they manage a win here and one of the bigger surprises of the tournament. I don’t have Luqueño making it out of this group.

Bottom line: Sao Paulo should beat Luqeuño handily, especially with Adriano on the pitch. If there was a window for Adriano to show that he’s focused on football and is ready to head back to Serie A, it would be tonight. My pick: Luqueño don’t have a prayer, 3-0 to Sao Paulo.

CF America vs. River Plate (Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico) on FSE @ 8pm PST.

America hosts River Plate tonight, this match is pretty important for River Plate should they win, it would indisputably qualify them for the next round and they would be able to rest their key players for the last group stage match at home against San Martin. River Plate have left a few of their starters at home for this match but tonight’s team could still include players like Ortega, Falcao, Alexis Sanchez, and Sebastian Abreu who have made the trip out to Mexico.

For America, a win would complicate the group standings making the last match-day critical. America has not shown very good form and the rumor mill has Hugo Sanchez lining up to replace Ruben Omar Romano. Still, they are no slouches at home in the high altitude bosom of Azteca Stadium.

Bottom line: America need to win to separate themselves from the bottom two in this group and to arrive at their last match at U. Catolica in Santiago with a difference in their points total form their opponents. Also, the travel down to Chile will have an effect on the match. My pick: This is a draw, I cannot see River able to get an away win against America and America will not be able to manage to win given their opposition and poor form of late. 1-1 or possibly 0-0. Also, a tie favors both sides, allows them to add to their point total without losing and allowing the other two teams in this competition to gain ground.

As always, stats are good here but not updated daily. Good for reviewing the morning after matches.

If you’re not near a TV but want to follow up-to-date info on the matches, the GameCasts on ESPN Soccernet.com or ESPN Deportes.com for Spanish speakers seem to be pretty cool.