The Strongest and Ceara will kick off their Copa Sudamericana round-of-16 contest on Wednesday, when they square off in the first leg in Bolivia.
The visiting side topped their group with a perfect record, while their hosts dropped into the continent's secondary tournament after finishing third in their Copa Libertadores group.
Match preview
After finishing third in their domestic top flight last season, The Strongest earned a place in this year's Copa Libertadores qualifying, and they progressed to the group stage with two-legged wins over Plaza Colonia and Universidad Catolica.
Two draws and a defeat from their first three games gave the Bolivian side's hopes of advancing to the knockout stage a major blow, before they stayed in the fight with a 5-0 thrashing of Athletico Paranaense.
That was not enough for the Tigre, though, as the final two matches produced just a single point, meaning they only pipped Caracas to third place and the resultant spot in the Copa Sudamericana on goal difference.
Now on the back of a 3-0 defeat to Boliviar in the final of the Apertura phase of their domestic league, The Strongest will aim to bounce back and take a lead in their round-of-16 tie with home advantage in their quest for silverware this season.
Ceara, meanwhile, will hope to build on their eye-catching form in this competition's group stage, as they were the only side to cruise through to the final 16 with a perfect record.
An 11th-placed finish in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A table last season saw the Vozao granted automatic entry into the group stage, and they began with wins over Independiente, Deportivo La Guaira and General Caballero JLM, scoring six goals in the process and only conceding once.
Victories and clean sheets in each of the reverse fixtures then followed to see them book a spot in the knockout stage, before manager Dorival Junior departed earlier in June, with Marquinhos Santos now at the helm.
Life under the new boss has not got off to the best start, as they have played out three draws in the Brazilian top flight while also suffering a 2-0 defeat to Fortaleza in the first leg of their Copa do Brasil round-of-16 tie.
Having now dropped to just two points above the relegation zone domestically, Ceara will aim for a first win of Santos's stint as they look to boost their chances of progressing to the final eight of the Copa Sudamericana.
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- D
- D
- L
- D
Team News
Enrique Triverio should again lead the line for The Strongest, having been preferred at the top end of the pitch in recent games and their Copa Libertadores outings, although Martin Prost, who leads their scoring charts with seven goals this season, will also be pushing for a starting spot.
Luciano Ursino is a key man in midfield and should again line up alongside Fernando Saucedo in the engine room.
Elsewhere, Adrian Jusino will continue to command the back line, likely next to Ismael Benegas.
Ceara will likely remain without top scorer Stiven Mendoza, who has been out of action since mid-June through injury after scoring two goals in three group-stage appearances and six in 10 Brasileiro outings.
In his absence, Vinicius could lead the attack, although new man Matheus Peixoto, who is yet to score in six appearances, was deployed for their latest league game against Atletico Goianiense.
Messias is a relative mainstay at the heart of the defence, and he should again partner Luiz Otavio.
The Strongest possible starting lineup:
Viscarra; Wayar, Jusino, Benegas, Aponte; Saucedo, Ursino, Amaral; Churo, Triverio, Prost
Ceara possible starting lineup:
Ricardo; Paraiba, Messias, Otavio, Pacheco; Richard, Richardson, Sobral; Lima, Vinicius, Roberto
We say: The Strongest 2-1 Ceara
The Strongest will see it as crucial that they get an advantage on home turf, and we see them just edging out the Brazilians before heading abroad next week.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
body check tags ::
Previews by email
