Cruzeiro - River Plate Prediction, Picks and Tips
The defending champion is standing with his back to the wall! The Copa Libertadores final between the two archenemies Boca Juniors and River Plate caused many headlines last season. Now, the defending champion's journey could come to an abrupt end in the round of the last sixteen, as River Plate will have to improve significantly in the return leg in Brazil after the goalless first leg. During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday there will be a duel between Cruzeiro and River Plate! The goalless draw was the peak of emotion for the guests from Brazil last week. Throughout the game Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte was on the defensive. The offensive efforts did not take place de facto. With the own fans in the back, the surprise should actually be fixed. However, an increase in performance will be absolutely necessary, we do not recognize value between Cruzeiro and River Plate at the current odds on the home win.
The advantage of the Brazilian teams in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores against the teams from Argentina is certainly the fact that the Brazilian Serie A is a full-year championship and the teams are therefore in match rhythm accordingly. This plus could not exploit the team of head coach Mano Menezes (who was from 2010 to 2012 coach of the Selecao 2010), however. The self-confidence after the recent achievements is not particularly big anyway. Cruzeiro's 2-0 home defeat to Atletico Paranaense in Serie A last week saw their 2-0 win against River Plate. It remained the Menezes-Elf for the fifth time in series without own scoring! After twelve games in the domestic championship Cruzeiro may not dream of the renewed qualification for the Copa Libertadores, but must rather deal with the relegation battle. With just ten points from twelve games Cruzeiro is on rank 16 of the table. With only nine goals scored this season, the offensive is Brazil's great Achilles tendon!
A week before the first leg against Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte the preparation was ended at the reigning defending champion of the Copa Libertadores. In the domestic cup competition was the first competitive game of the season on the program. Against the second division Gimnasia Mendoza struggled the Gallardo Elf penalty shootout and was able to prevail. Significantly improved, the Los Millonarios showed in the first leg against Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte, but could not take advantage of many chances to score. Similarly, the first league match of the year against the Argentinos Juniors, in which the Gallardo team again missed the first victory in the new season. Joker Carrascal prevented in the 85th minute with a Abstauber-hit the total false start. Three games, three draws, no win! The season opener has been anything but satisfactory for River Plate so far. Should this week actually be the end of the Copa Libertadores, the first crisis of the young season would be perfect. However, River Plate has not suffered a single defeat in the current Copa Libertadores. In the group stage there were two wins and four draws. Goalkeeper Franco Armani was able to keep his box clean in four of the seven previous Copa Libertadores games. Paired with the home side's weaknesses in the return leg between Cruzeiro and River Plate, a prediction that both teams will not meet is quite lucrative. Qualitatively, River Plate is certainly one step above the Brazilians. River Plate has a good mix of veterans (Leonardo Ponzio, German Lux and Javier Pinola have all worked in Europe for years) and many young savages (Exequiel Palacios, Cristian Ferreira and Julian Alvarez are hoping for an early European change).
Our recommendation tip for Cruzeiro - River Plate : BTS / NO @ 1,66