The 2021 domestic winners from Brazil and Ecuador will tussle on Matchday Five of the Copa Libertadores as Atletico Mineiro can assure their place in the last 16 with a win at home to Independiente del Valle on Thursday at Mineirao.
Galo are top of Group D, unbeaten after four matches, while Los Negriazules can potentially move into second-place with a win.
Match preview
It took 50 years for Mineiro to claim a second Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A title, and they would rather not wait that long to claim another international trophy, with their lone triumph in this competition coming in 2013.
Under new manager Antonio Mohamed, they have been sharp defensively in Brazil this year, conceding the third-fewest goals in the league (seven), though they have allowed a goal in three of their four fixtures so far in this year's tournament.
Their solid ball-playing defenders have played a significant role in the success of this club over the past couple of seasons.
They tend to move the ball meticulously from the back, while some of their premier strikers have done a great job at finding those narrow pockets of space in the final third.
After needing a late strike on matchday two to draw America Mineiro (1-1), this team have played with a lot more purpose and intent from the opening whistle, scoring three first half goals in their previous two group fixtures.
With the majority of the 2021 squad still intact, we have seen some solid continuity from them throughout the year, and that chemistry and understanding has allowed them to flourish in big games.
They have been masterful in recent matches at defending in the right areas of the field, allowing only one combined effort on target against Bragantino and Atletico Goianiense, respectively.
A pair of quick reactions in previous group fixtures have given the champions of Ecuador a chance to make it to the last 16 of this tournament for the second time in the past three seasons.
Trailing by two goals to Deportes Tolima on matchday two, Independiente fought their way back in the second half with a pair of goals to earn a 2-2 draw before coming back from a goal down to draw Mineiro 1-1 in their following match.
Renato Paiva's side have been a lot better defensively away from home in this competition, conceding just a single goal after allowing nine a year ago and eight in 2020.
Some late heroics have enabled them to move into second place in the Ecuadorian Serie A as they scored the winner in the 84th minute this past weekend to defeat Tecnico Universitario 3-2.
It is rare to see that kind of offensive outburst when they take to the field however as their previous five matches in all competitions were decided by a goal or fewer with no more than two goals scored in each of those fixtures.
They have not lost to a team from Brazil in this competition over the past two years, beating America Mineiro in their opener (2-0) and knocking Gremio out in 2021, with a pair of 2-1 wins in that third-round tie.
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Team News
Nacho Fernandez leads the Brazilian champions in goals with two at this competition, including the winner against America Mineiro, while Guilherme Arana has a goal and two assists and their Golden Boot winner domestically in 2021, and Hulk has a goal and an assist.
Everson has three clean sheets domestically, though just one in the Libertadores, stopping five shots in their opening encounter, a 2-0 win over Deportes Tolima.
In their opening lineup on matchday four, we saw two new faces who did not start their previous match against Independiente del Valle, as Jair and Eduardo Vargas replaced Ademir and Rever.
Junior Sornoza was the hero for the Ecuadorians over the weekend, scoring the winner with six minutes to play, with the other goals coming from Luis Mateo Ortiz Lara and Billy Arce.
Richard Schunke, Lorenzo Faravelli, Pedro Perlaza and Jonathan Bauman each have one assist at this tournament, while Sornoza and Arce are the only ones with goals.
Midfielder Alan Minda remains out with a cruciate ligament rupture which has kept him on the sidelines since October of last year.
Atletico Mineiro possible starting lineup:
Everson; Arana, Rever, Nathan, Guga; Jair, Allan, Otavio; Fernandez, Vargas; Hulk
Independiente del Valle possible starting lineup:
Ramirez; Caicedo, Segovia, Schunke, Chavez; Arce, Sornoza, Perlaza; Cabezas, Gaibor; Bauman
We say: Atletico Mineiro 1-0 Independiente del Valle
The Ecuadorian champions have been in their share of close games and are solid when it comes to limiting their opponents' opportunities, but we do not believe they will be able to match the physicality that Galo possesses, which should be enough to send the Brazilians into the next round of this competition.
For additional data used by our team to analyse our suggested result please click here.
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