What? Millonarios V Independiente Santa Fe
When? October 3, 0245 CET
Where? Estadio El Campin, Bogota.
Millonarios and Santa Fe will meet this Tuesday in Bogota's derby for the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana round of 16 match.
The series was very promising before the first leg, which eventually was one of the most disappointing matches of the tournament and ended in a goalless draw. Both teams were harshly criticized by the fans and journalists in the social networks, mostly because of the cowardly strategy of both coaches. And still, this is the Clasico Bogotano, it's a huge match and we always expect to receive good matches between these two sides.
Millonarios will be the official host this time and they need to be careful not to concede away goals. Any goal that Santa Fe will score, Millonarios will have to score twice. The club is in a bad form since the beginning of the semester. They currently rank 12th and outside of the playoff berth after another loss on Sunday, 2-1 to Atletico Bucaramanga. Unlike Santa Fe, coach Russo didn't use his alternate team and yet managed to lose the game. Last week Millonarios qualified to the Colombian cup semi final in a PK shoot-out but again the team played bad. By the way, another Clasico Bogotano was prevented when Once Caldas has beaten Santa Fe and will face Millonarios in the semi final. "Los Embajadores" will most probably repeat their strongest lineup, besides center midfielder Jhon Duque, who is still injured, and midfielder Cesar Carillo, who was sent off in the first leg. Other than them, all players are fit and should take part in the game.
Predicted lineup: Fariñez; Ramos, Cadavid, Figueroa, Bertel; Marrugo, Dominguez, Barreto, Silva, Hauche; Del Valle.
On the other hand, Santa Fe doesn't look better. The team has been eliminated already from the Colombian cup after losing to Once Caldas in the quarter final and also lost at home on Sunday 2-0 to Deportivo Cali, although coach Sanguinetti preferred to keep his strongest squad for the game vs. Millonarios and used his alternate team. Santa Fe is ranked 9th in the league, outside the playoff berth just like their rival. Although, there are some good news for their side as the key player, striker Wilson Morelo, will be back after he missed the first leg. In addition, they didn't concede a single away goal and now the pressure is on Millonarios. And a quick reminder: It will be an away match for Santa Fe but basically it's their stadium as well, which means they are familiar with it. It's going to be a tough match for both sides. Santa Fe will miss their main goalkeeper, Castellanos, who is out due to an injury and also the striker Carmelo Valencia, who cannot participate in this tournament.
Predicted lineup: Zapata; Arboleda, Urrego, Henao, Gil; Perlaza, Gordillo, Roa, Gustavino, Seijas; Morelo