Boca Juniors faces São Paulo in the first match of the quarter-final series of the Copa Sudamericana tonight at La Bombonera.
Both teams have confirmed their lineups for the match. Boca Juniors will line up with Álvaro Montero; Leandro Lozano, Lautaro Di Lollo, Facundo Herrera, Lautaro Blanco; Santiago Ascacibar, Leandro Paredes, Tomás Belmonte; Alan Velasco, Miguel Merentiel and Leonel Flores, coached by Rodolfo Arruabarrena. On the other hand, São Paulo will feature Rafael; Lucas Ramon, José Sabino, Robert Arboleda, Domingos Duarte, Iago Amaral; Marcos Antonio, Pablo Maia; Artur, Jonathan Calleri and Luciano, managed by Dorival Júnior.
Regarding their recent performance, Boca Juniors comes into this match after a 2-2 draw against Gimnasia de Mendoza, placing them eighth in Zone A of the Torneo Clausura. In the previous stage of the Copa Sudamericana, the team eliminated Recoleta FC from Paraguay. São Paulo arrives at the match after a 2-0 victory over Atlético Mineiro and is positioned tenth in the Brasileirao with 33 points, having advanced in the Copa Sudamericana by eliminating Bolívar.
The match referee will be Piero Maza from Chile, assisted by José Retamal and Miguel Rocha, while Diego Flores will serve as the fourth official. The VAR will be overseen by Fernando Vejar and Miguel Araos.
Historically, Boca Juniors and São Paulo have faced each other 12 times in Conmebol tournaments, with a slight advantage for the Argentine team, which has won five matches compared to four for the Brazilian team and three draws. At home, Boca Juniors has a strong record, having won five of the six matches played in Buenos Aires, with São Paulo’s only victory occurring in the Supercopa of 1995. In Brazil, São Paulo remains unbeaten in six official matches against Boca.
The return match will take place next Tuesday at 21:30 at Morumbi. This match is expected to be highly significant, not only because of the historic rivalry between the two clubs but also because the winner will face the victor of the matchup between Santa Fe and Vasco da Gama in the next round.
Source: www.infobae.com
