Platense begin their Copa dream against Corinthians in Vicente López | OneFootball

Squid makes its Libertadores debut against a battered Timao, without Depay and amid an internal crisis.

Platense and Corinthians will face off this Thursday at 9:00 p.m. at the Ciudad de Vicente López Stadium, in the opening matchday of Group E of the Copa Libertadores. It will be a historic day for El Calamar, which will play in the continental tournament for the first time after winning the Apertura.

El Marrón earned its place after winning its first top-flight title by defeating Huracán in the final. However, the draw was not favorable, and it will have to compete in a demanding group that also includes Peñarol and Independiente Santa Fe. On the domestic front, it is coming off a scoreless draw against Lanús and remains close to the qualification spots, although all attention is now focused on its Copa debut.

On the other side, Corinthians arrive amid a turbulent atmosphere. The São Paulo side is enduring a poor start to the Brasileirão, where it sits near the bottom of the table, and has recently changed managers: Dorival Júnior left his post and was replaced by Fernando Diniz, South American champion with Fluminense. Despite the change, the team has not managed to calm the crisis, which has included strong complaints from the fans toward the players.

In addition, Timao will be without its main star, Memphis Depay, who suffered a muscle tear and will be sidelined for several weeks. The Dutchman has also been in the news in recent days for off-field issues, in a context that reflects the difficult moment the club is going through.

On the second matchday, Platense will face another top-level challenge when it visits Peñarol in Montevideo, while Corinthians will host Independiente Santa Fe. In Vicente López, El Calamar will look to make history and strike the first blow in a group that promises to be very evenly matched.

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