Club Libertad vs Atletico Mineiro

Club Libertad and Atletico Mineiro face each other in a crunch meeting in the 2023 Copa Libertadores Group G at the Estadio Dr. Nicolás Leoz, with a place in the knockout stages up for grabs.

Math’s clear for Club Libertad, a victory qualifies them for the knockout stages, while anything less sends them into the Copa Sudamericana playoff round or worse. Stuck three points off second-placed Atletico Mineiro, the Paraguayans won the reverse fixture 1-0 in Brazil, so another triumph here won’t be a surprise. However, since that opening-day success, Daniel Garnero’s men have suffered three defeats from four Group G fixtures (W1), with each result (win/loss) in this sequence yielding a single-goal margin and three of them featuring an identical 2-1 scoreline. Having only lost once in five home outings across all competitions in the build-up to this pivotal clash (W3, D1), Libertad should relish their winning prospects, even though the odds indicate this could still go either way.

On the other hand, avoiding defeat would suffice for Atletico Mineiro as they have a firm grip on their qualification fortunes after bouncing back from a dreadful Group G start. Indeed, the visitors have gone from back-to-back losses at the beginning of their group-stage journey to posting three wins in a row, two of which came ‘to nil.’ However, Luiz Felipe Scolari’s attacking set-up often sparks to life after halftime, with all five of Mineiro’s goals during that three-game stretch coming in the second half of play. But their rock-solid defensive tactics also saw them keep a first-half clean sheet in each of those three fixtures, highlighting the potential for a cagey opening. It’s still not all rosy for Atletico MG, considering they come into proceedings winless on their last two road trips (D1, L1).