Although they trail by a narrow 1-0 margin following last week’s 1st leg defeat in Sao Paulo at the Estádio Urbano Caldeira, Argentinian hosts, Independiente, will now return to their Estadio Libertadores de América for this upcoming 2nd leg tie against Brazilian visitors, Santos.
Independiente head into this important return leg on the back of three matches without a win however, having suffered defeats against Colon in the Liga Professional semi-finals along with last week’s loss at Santos.
Thursday’s hosts did steady the ship though last time out in the Argentinian top flight with a 0-0 draw at home with Argentinos Juniors, while the bigger picture shows that Independiente have lost just two of their last nine matches in all competitions.
On the Sudamericana stage, Independiente have produced fairly consistent results as the hosts have lost just two of their previous 13 ties in the CONMEBOL competition, while results at home have been nothing short of impressive; Independiente have lost just one of their last 19 home ties, winning 16 of these.
Santos seemingly have one foot in the quarter-finals already having secured what could prove to be a vital 1-0 win at home in the 1st leg of this two-legged affair against Independiente, but the Brazilian outfit still have some work ahead of them in this return leg.
Following last week’s 1st leg victory, Santos picked up a point in a creditable 2-2 draw away from home at surprise-package Bragantino in the Brazilian Serie A, and the bigger picture has seen Santos suffer just two defeats from their previous nine matches in all competitions.
However, although Santos have picked up recent wins against Sao Paulo, Atletico Mineiro, Athletico PR and tonight’s opponents, Independiente, all of these victories have been achieved on home turf at their Estádio Urbano Caldeira, while the two defeats were both incurred on their travels.
Indeed, Santos have really struggled on the road for some time across various competitions as the visitors have managed to pick up just one away win out of their last 14 matches on their travels, while also losing 10 of these games as well.
Independiente have won the previous two meetings at home on the trot against Santos, 3-0 and 2-1 respectively and the hosts look to have a decent chance of winning this 2nd leg and perhaps also the tie overall.