Rosario Central aim to seal next-round spot vs Universidad Central | OneFootball

El Canalla, coming off a local elimination at the hands of River, will host Universidad Central de Venezuela today for the fifth matchday of Group H.

Rosario Central will host Universidad Central de Venezuela this Tuesday from 7 p.m. at the Gigante de Arroyito stadium, for the fifth matchday of the Copa Libertadores Group H. The match will be refereed by Brazilian official Flavio De Souza and will be broadcast on Fox Sports 2.

El Canalla heads into this match after a tough blow in the Apertura Tournament, where it was eliminated in the semifinals after a 1-0 loss to River. However, it will have a quick chance to bounce back on the international stage, as it can secure qualification for the round of 16 with one matchday to spare.

The Rosario side put itself on course for qualification with a very strong group-stage campaign. After a scoreless draw against Independiente del Valle in its debut, it strung together three straight wins: a 1-0 victory over Libertad in Asunción, another win over the Paraguayan side in Rosario, and a 3-0 thrashing of Universidad Central in Caracas. Central leads the group with 10 points.

Given that scenario, a draw will be enough for the Rosario team to book a place among the last 16 of the Libertadores. If it wins, it will be very close to finishing top of the group, although it will have to wait and see what happens later between Independiente del Valle and Libertad.

Universidad Central, meanwhile, has 6 points and sits third in the group. The Venezuelan side earned those points with a 3-1 win over Libertad and a 2-0 victory over Independiente del Valle, although it lost to Central and also to the Ecuadorian team.

For the Tricolor, the match in Rosario will also be crucial. A draw would guarantee, at minimum, third place and the chance to play in the Copa Sudamericana playoffs. A win, on the other hand, would put it firmly in the fight for a place in the Libertadores round of 16.

In the Venezuelan league, Universidad Central is also enjoying a strong run: it currently leads Group A in the championship phase and, if it wins its two remaining matches, it will reach the final of the domestic tournament.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.