Without Ángel Di María, Rosario Central need points at Libertad | OneFootball

El Canalla is chasing its first Libertadores win in Paraguay, without “Fideo” and with the urgency of regaining confidence after the draw in its opener.

Rosario Central will face Libertad this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at the Tigo La Huerta stadium, in the second matchday of Group H of the 2026 Copa Libertadores. Jorge Almirón’s team needs all three points after an inefficient debut, in a key clash to start settling into the standings.

The Paraguayan side’s current form is far from ideal. Libertad comes in shaken after a 3-1 loss to Universidad Central de Venezuela in its continental opener, a result that reflected the flaws it has also been carrying in the domestic tournament. Sitting mid-table in the Apertura, Francisco Arce’s team needs to fix its defensive mistakes and improve its attacking output to change the narrative.

As for El Canalla, the outlook is not ideal either. After a scoreless draw against Independiente del Valle in its debut, the team raised doubts in attack and then suffered a hard blow on the domestic front, where it went from control to confusion in its most recent outing. On top of that comes the significant absence of Ángel Di María, who will miss the match through injury, forcing Almirón to reshuffle the attack.

As for the lineup, Rosario Central would rely on names such as Jaminton Campaz and Alejo Véliz to create danger, while youngster Julián Fernández appears as Fideo’s replacement. Libertad, meanwhile, would keep an attacking structure with Melgarejo as the reference point, looking to make home advantage count.

The match looks decisive for both sides: Central wants to take a step forward in the group, while Libertad needs to respond to avoid falling behind from the outset. In a tightly contested Group H, every point is already starting to matter.

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