The Copa Libertadores knockout rounds take place this week as Athletico Paranaense and Club Libertad clash at the Arena da Baixada in the round of 16 first leg with one half of the season all but over on the domestic front for Libertad.
The Paraguayan side have just one game left to play in the Division Professional in their homeland and they have already secured top spot in the table over in the Apertura side of things. They have won an excellent 17 games to this point in the league, and have lost only once all season long.
There is a final game in the Apertura stage against Resistencia before the commencement of the Clausura against Sportivo Ameliano. Last time out for Libertad, they edged past Cerro Porteno on home soil, which extended their winning run to three games after defeating Sol de America 3-0 and Guairena 2-0 after a 1-1 draw with Guarani.
The Paraguayan league leaders also made relatively easy work of their Copa Libertadores Group B division, as they won three of their six games they played, losing twice and finishing top, narrowly ahead of, ironically, Athletico-PR.
This Group B setup has meant the two sides have already met twice in the Copa Libertadores this season, with the Brazilian side winning the recent clash with a comfortable 2-0 victory.
In the other fixture, Libertad defeated them 1-0, which means both sides have beaten one another on home turf already this campaign.
Athletico-PR remain in hot form across both competitions, as they have not lost in Brazil since the middle of May against Fluminense, meaning they have now gone on a run of 11 games without tasting defeat, with eight of them coming in as wins.
In Serie A, the club do remain five points off the league leaders Palmeiras, but with them easing into the knockout rounds and already having beaten Libertad in the Copa Libertadores, fans will be confident here in this two-legged affair.
There is a big difference in the goals scored and conceded from either side heading into this one, with the Brazilian outfit letting in 15 and scoring just 17 of their own across the 14 games in their respective league, while Libertad have cruised to the top of their table with an incredible 45 goals scored and only 14 conceded.
Forebet predicts Athletico-PR to win and for the game to see under 2.5 goals in what is set to be a very close two-legged tie.
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