We’ve reached the round of last 16 in the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League, and features the 1st leg clash between Argentinian side, Boca Juniors, and Brazil Serie A outfit, Atletico Mineiro, at the Estadio Alberto José Armando.
Boca Juniors finished runners-up behind Ecuador club, Barcelona, in Group C, having won 3, drawn 1 and lost 2, which included victories against The Strongest (home and away) and Santos, along with a point picked up in a draw with Barcelona at home.
Domingo 😀👍🏼#VamosBoca 🟦🟨🟦 pic.twitter.com/H451bIQxFA— Boca Juniors (@BocaJrsOficial) July 11, 2021
Domingo 😀👍🏼#VamosBoca 🟦🟨🟦 pic.twitter.com/H451bIQxFA
Although Boca Juniors also suffered two defeats, these were both handed to them away from home in losses at Barcelona and Santos, while previous form and results on home turf have been extremely consistent for Tuesday evening’s hosts.
Boca Juniors are unbeaten in their last 20 home matches in the Copa Libertadores (one was on penalties), which consists of 14 straight wins, while also keeping a staggering total of 17 clean sheets in the process.
Despite the previous two meetings between these two sides were way back in 1978 (with Boca Jrs winning 3-1 and 2-1 respectively), the hosts will be hard to beat on home turf on Tuesday night.
Atletico Mineiro finished clear winners of Group H by a significant six-point margin ahead of runners-up, Cerro Porteno, with the Brazilian club remaining unbeaten throughout the group stage, winning 5 and drawing 1.
A 1-1 draw with Deportivo La Guaira in their Group H opener was just the pre-cursor to a subsequent five-match winning streak which saw Atletico Mineiro secure wins against America de Cali (home and away), Cerro Porteno (home and away) and a rousing 4-0 victory at home against Deportivo La Guaira.
Atletico Mineiro have also won three of their last four Copa Libertadores ties on the road as well, but the bigger picture shows that the Brazilian visitors have managed to collect just five wins from their last 16 ties on their travels and they could find Boca Juniors a tough prospect in their own backyard on Tuesday night.
Having failed to score in six of these 16 away ties, Atletico Mineiro look to have their work cut out against their Argentinian counterparts, especially if Boca Juniors score the first goal.
This looks like being a tight encounter with maybe just one goal separating the two sides.