River Plate visits the Maracaná in Rio de Janeiro to play an important match against their group leaders in the Copa Libertadores, Fluminense, before next Sunday’s Superclásico against Boca Juniors at the Más Monumental stadium.
The commitment in the legendary “carioca” scenario, valid for the third round, will be played from 9.00 pm with refereeing by Uruguayan Esteban Ostojich and broadcast by Fox Sports.
This is River’s most difficult match at this stage, with a big impact on their chances of winning Group D, which is why DT Martín Demichelis is not reserving players despite the proximity of the first superclassic of his technical cycle to the club.
Fluminense leads the area with an ideal score (6) after victories against Sporting Cristal of Peru (0) and The Strongest (3); while River occupies third place with 3 units and the best goal difference compared to the Bolivians.
Any defeat at the Maracanã would leave the Argentine side six points behind the leaders, almost forced to fight for second place in the group.
To avoid this uncomfortable scenario, Demichelis will use the formation with which he achieved a brilliant performance in the Professional League, which he leads with a six-point lead over San Lorenzo.
The LPF leaders have lost three games this year and only one of their last 12: their cup debut against The Strongest, at La Paz.
Today he is facing the team of the moment in Brazil, a rival with hierarchies and experience, armed with the clear objective of winning the first Libertadores in its history.
The anointed Felipe Melo (39), Marcelo (36), Paulo Henrique Ganso (33) and Argentine striker Germán Cano (35) are the brightest figures in their squad.
He also has his youth in midfielder André (21 years old), he is already signed for Barcelona and Liverpool; playmaker Gabriel Piraní (21) and defender Alexsander (19).
Full-back Marcelo, the player with the most titles in Real Madrid’s history (25), is in doubt due to a muscle injury.
The Argentinean Cano, formerly of Lanús and Chacarita Juniors, has 20 goals in 20 games played this year. With 64 goals in 89 games, he is Fluminense’s second goalscorer in the 21st century behind Fred (130).
Coach Fernando Diniz celebrates a year in charge this Monday with a performance of 68.7% (42 wins, 10 draws and 14 defeats in 66 games).
= Probable formations =
Fluminense: Fabius; Samuel Xavier, Nino, Felipe Melo and Alexsander or Marcelo; Andre and Lima; Keno, Ganso and John Arias; German dog. DT: Fernando Diniz.
River Plate: Franco Armani; Andrés Herrera, Leandro González Pírez, Emanuel Mammana and Milton Casco; Enzo Pérez and Rodrigo Aliendro; Nicolás De la Cruz, Ignacio Fernández and Esequiel Barco; Luca Beltran. DT: Martin Demichelis.
Referee: Esteban Ostojic.
Stadium: Maracana of Rio de Janeiro.
Now: 21.00.
TV: Fox Sport.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.