Estudiantes target a last-16 spot against Independiente Medellín | OneFootball

El Pincha hosts the Colombian side in La Plata needing a win to reach the next stage of the Copa Libertadores.

Estudiantes de La Plata will face a key match for its international future this Tuesday when it hosts Independiente Medellín on the final matchday of Group A of the Copa Libertadores.

The match will be played from 9:30 p.m. at the Jorge Luis Hirschi stadium and will be refereed by Paraguayan official Juan Benítez, while Ulises Mereles will be in charge of VAR. The broadcast will be on Fox Sports.

The team managed by Alexander Medina heads into this decider after a 1-0 loss to Flamengo at the Maracanã in the previous round.

That defeat, combined with the Colombian side’s win over Cusco, left El Pincha outside the qualification spots and needing a win in La Plata to advance to the round of 16.

The situation is clear: Estudiantes must take all three points to stay alive in South America’s top club competition.

For this decisive match, the Uruguayan coach will be without Tomás Palacios and Tiago Palacios, both suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

In their places, Gastón Benedetti and Facundo Farías are expected to come in, while the manager is also considering a third change in attack, with Colombian forward Edwuin Cetré replacing Braian Aguirre.

On the other side will be an Independiente Medellín side arriving with greater peace of mind. The team coached by Sebastián Botero is coming off a 3-2 win over Cusco in Peru and currently sits second in the group with seven points, one more than Estudiantes.

That means the Colombian team only needs a draw to secure qualification for the round of 16.

Probable lineups:

Estudiantes de La Plata: Fernando Muslera; Eric Meza, Santiago Núñez, Leandro González Pirez, Gastón Benedetti; Ezequiel Piovi, Mikel Amondarain, Facundo Farías, Alexis Castro, Edwuin Cetré; Guido Carrillo. Coach: Alexander Medina.

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