The Strongest will look for their first victory in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores this Thursday and be the exception of the bad presentations that Independiente, Always Ready, Oriente Petrolero and Wilstermann had this week in the Conmebol tournaments.
El Tigre will visit a complicated redoubt. Will face Atlético Paranaense in Curitiba in match of the second date, group B.
The aurinegros tied in their debut against Libertad (1-1) from Paraguay in La Paz, while the Brazilians added a visitor point against Caracas FC (0-0).
The match will be played at the Arena da Baixada from 18:00, Bolivian time. The Argentine Darío Herrera will be the referee.
The Strongest wants to improve their statistics in Brazil, where he played 15 times, with a balance of 14 defeats and a single victory (in 2016 against Sao Paulo).
The team led by the Argentine Cristian Díaz lost this Monday 1-0 in his visit to Aurora de Cochabamba, with a reserve eleven. The result left “Tigre” in third position in group A of the Apertura de la División Profesional tournament, with 14 points in eight days, two less than the leader, Palmaflor.
For the duel in Curitiba, The Strongest will feature Argentinian midfielder Bautista Cascini, who missed the game against Libertad because he was not yet registered. Rodrigo Amaral also returns, recovered from physical discomfort, while Henry Vaca is doubtful.
Paranaense will have a new coach. Fábio Carille, who was champion with Corinthians del Brasileirao in 2017, took over.
The club made the three most expensive signings in its history this season (the Argentine Tomás Neck, the Uruguayan Agustín Canobbio and the Brazilian Vitor Roque), who join players like Marlos, Pablo, Hugo Moura, Matheus Fernandes or Bryan García.
However, his game still hasn’t made him forget key pieces in recent years that left Curitiba (south) this year, like Nikao, Márcio Azevedo, Renato Kayzer, Marcinho or goalkeeper Santos.
For the continental duel, Paranaense has many casualties: Vitor Roque has not yet signed up and Marcinho terminated his contract this week. In the medical department are Matheus Babi, Thiago Heleno, Dedé, Nicolás Hernández, Fasson, Erick, Matheus Fernandes, Kawan, Cittadini, Julimar and Reinaldo, while Pablo is doubtful due to discomfort.
Possible lineups:
Athletico Paranaense: Bento – Orejuela, Pedro Henrique, Halter, Abner – Hugo Moura, Cristian, Terans – Neck, Cirino and Vitor Bueno. DT: Fabio Carille (Mauricio Souza).
The Strongest: Vizcarra – Wayar, Castillo, Banegas, Aponte – Saucedo, Calleros, Cascini – Vaca, Esparza and Triverio. DT: Cristian Leonel Diaz.
