Bolivian side Oriente Petrolero and Paraguayan outfit Tacuary go head-to-head in a dead rubber clash at Estadio Ramon Tahuichi Aguilera on Thursday night.

Having both been knocked out of the Copa Sudamericana heading into the penultimate round of group-stage matches, the teams will be aiming to bow out on a high.

Match preview

Oriente Petrolero were beaten for the fourth continental game running in a comprehensive 4-0 defeat against Brazilian outfit Bragantino two Thursdays ago.

Erwin Sanchez's men conceded first-half goals to Eduardo Sasha and Bruninho before Lucas Evangelista and Thiago Borbas added more gloss to the scoreline in the second period.

As a result, El Albiverdes remain bottom of Group C with no points on the board and a negative goal difference of -12 after four outings so far.

Next up is the challenge of facing off against an opposing outfit who claimed a 3-1 victory in the only previous edition of this fixture back in May.

Off the back of ending a six-game winless run in their last encounter on home turf, Thursday's hosts now go in search of consecutive victories in front of their fans for the first time in four months.

Tacuary were on the receiving end of a 4-0 thrashing against Estudiantes La Plata in the teams' meeting at Estadio Defensores del Chaco a fortnight ago.

Humberto Ovelar's men held firm to go into the interval on level terms before Mauro Boselli's double, a Leonardo Godoy strike and Ruben Bareiro's own goal decided the clash.

Still stuck on three points from their four Copa Sudamericana matches, El Tacua sit third in Group C, three points clear of their next opponents at the foot of the standings.

Currently on a run of five straight away defeats by a combined score of 10-1, Thursday's visitors have it all to do in what is set to be another daunting assignment on the road.

Team News

Cristian Alvarez boasts four goals in as many matches for Petrolero heading into this one and the 30-year-old will aim to deliver the goods once again.

Wilfredo Soleto and Freddy Roca are both injury doubts for the hosts after they were forced off with first-half injury scares against Bragantino.

Luis Cabral will need to undergo a late fitness test to determine his availability having lasted just 25 minutes in Tacuary's most recent outing.

Should Cabral be deemed unfit to participate, defender Luis Martinez is expected to earn a recall to the starting lineup for the away side.

Oriente Petrolero possible starting lineup:
Quinonez; Sosa, Mercado, Alvarez, Guzman; Rojas, Sanchez, Alvarez; Arabe, Villagra, Vargas

Tacuary possible starting lineup:
Servin; Ribeiro, Bareiro, Martinez; Villazanti, Amarilla, Gonzalez, Ayala, Gomez; Carius, Carballo

We say: Oriente Petrolero 1-1 Tacuary

Both teams have struggled defensively of late, and it is hard to see either of them coming away with a clean sheet. We are backing a share of the spoils with honours even at the end of the 90 minutes.


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