River celebrates 122 years in Lima: Demichelis puts his best against Sporting Cristal for the Copa Libertadores

On his 122nd birthday, River will have a date with his story. The celebrations will only be virtual because the attention will be focused on the meeting that the team of Martin Demichelis will play first Sporty crystal in Lima starting at 21:00, with television from Star + and Fox Sports.

The stop is brave. Not only because of what his opponent can offer from a football point of view, but also because of the pressure from the group numbers, which, depending on how matchday four of the group stage ends, could take River through to the round of 16 of final. follow or hang by a thread

Sporting Cristal is not a rival to be underestimated (in fact, with equal games, they are superior by one position, on goal difference). A champion at the Monumental has already given it to them who can complicate things, in that game that River started losing, overturned it, drew it and then ended up winning it 4-2, with great effort and one man less.

Mental will also come into play in Lima. Is that the River will go out to play the match this Thursday knowing the result of The Strongest, which will be presented two hours earlier against fluminense at the height of La Paz. A victory for the Bolivians will force Núñez’s team to win to finish with the same score as the Altiplano’s team. A victory for the Brazilians or a draw would leave Demichelis and company more at ease.

Either way, River can’t be trusted to do his own thing. Because no matter how much the result in Bolivia favors him, his own defeat will leave him without depending on itself qualify for the round of 16, a very complicated scenario that hasn’t been experienced since the remembered Libertadores 2015, the first directed and won by Gallardo. That team entered through the one-on-one window, having qualified as runners-up in their group with just 7 points.

Demichelis is thinking about putting in the best he has and will wait for Nicolás De La Cruz, who has already recovered from the hamstring discomfort that afflicted him last week and left him out of the match against Platense, for which the Uruguayan will certainly ( which is in Flamengo attractions) will start.

Meanwhile what the coach keeps between seven keys is the scheme. If Barco or Solari play, it will be five midfielders, given that if Solari plays it would be like against Platense, as a winger in a line of three attacking midfielders in front of the double five formed by Aliendro and Enzo Pérez. But if Miguel Borja plays from the start, the double 9 would return, as Lucas Beltrán would start, having had a few minutes against Platense, coming on as a substitute bench.

What is clearer is the defense. It’s just that River already knows he’ll have two victims for this game. One of these is that of Emanuel Mammana, who has not yet recovered from synovitis in his left knee, and that of Leandro González Pirez, who will meet his suspension date following his sending off against Fluminense in Rio. Thus, the central scoring duo will be made up of Robert Rojas and Paulo Díaz.