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Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Copa Libertadores clash between Racing Club and Flamengo, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
The Copa Libertadores semi-final is nicely poised with CR Flamengo holding a slender 1-0 advantage over Racing Club, with the second leg beckoning on October 30.
The hosts have it all to do when they take the tie back to the Estadio Juan Domingo Peron, hoping to end their 58-year wait to lift the continental trophy.
Match preview
A reverse in the first leg was the home side’s first taste of defeat after a three-game undefeated run.
Gustavo Costas’s men must take the fight to the Brazilian outfit, especially because they need a minimum of one goal on Thursday.
The Academy would be proud of the performance they put in last week, taking the match into the 88th minute without the scoreboard being affected.
Racing conceded what was a heartbreaking goal, chalked down to have been scored by one of their own, Marcos Rojo.
The hosts are making their first appearance in a semi-final in the Copa Libertadores since 1997, so they will throw everything at Flamengo to at least take the tie to the lottery of a penalty shootout.
The advantage is firmly in Flamengo’s favour, because they simply have to keep a clean sheet or avoid defeat to progress to the 2025 final.
The three-time champions are aiming to book a third final appearance in five years, and you would not bet against the Brazilians going all the way to lift the trophy for a fourth time in their history.
While that is an excellent theory, the reality is that Fla lost over the weekend in domestic action 1-0 away to Fortaleza, which could worry the away fans, albeit with a much-changed side.
Head coach Filipe Luis is looking to add to the silverware he has already brought to the club, but also to award Brazil an eighth Copa Libertadores title across the last nine campaigns.
Both times that the Mengao have travelled to Racing previously, they have come away with a 1-1 draw, enough to see Luis’s men through to the November 29 final at the Monumental in Lima, Peru.
Racing Club Copa Libertadores form:
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Racing Club form (all competitions):
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Flamengo Copa Libertadores form:
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Flamengo form (all competitions):
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Team News
There are still injuries that the hosts are battling with, including Alan Forneris (knee), Franco Pardo (muscle) and Elias Torres (knee).
Other than that, coach Costas has a proper squad from which to select his 11 tasked with rescuing the tie for the home side.
Striker Adrian Martinez will be crucial for the Academy, as he is the current top scorer in the competition with seven goals, and he missed one big chance in the first leg last week.
It seems that Flamengo are without their main striker, Pedro, who, despite his three shots last week, did not get onto the scoresheet, but he has a broken hand and will not make the trip to Argentina.
Everton is also ruled out, while he is joined on the sidelines by Leo Ortiz and Nicolas de la Cruz, who appears to be battling an illness.
The primary threat for the visitors is Giorgian de Arrascaeta, who had six touches in the opposition box last week and got four shots away, two of them on target.
Racing Club possible starting lineup:
Cambeses; Torres, Colombo, Garcia, Rojo; Solari, Zuculini, Almendra, Rojas; Conechny; Martinez
Flamengo possible starting lineup:
Rossi; Emerson Royal, Danilo, Pereira, Sandro; Jorginho, Pulgar; De Arrascaeta; Araujo, Lino, Henrique
We say: Racing Club 1-1 Flamengo (Flamengo win 2-1 on aggregate)
The visit to Argentina will not be a straightforward one for Flamengo, but they have enough quality in the squad to avoid defeat, like they did in their two previous visits to Racing Club.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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