Boca-River Superclásico headlines big weekend in South America

The biggest derby in Argentine soccer takes place on Sunday between Boca Juniors and River Plate. Here is this weekend’s South America soccer preview.

With things back in full swing in leagues across South America, we also had the pleasure of watching the first leg of the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals over the week leading into this weekend. Grêmio got things started with a 2-0 win away against Atlético Tucumán, with the Brazilians getting a pair of away goals and Atlético’s Gervasio Núñez picking up a red card in first-half stoppage time.

In the all-Argentine quarter, River Plate managed only a nil-nil draw against Independiente in Avellaneda. Boca Juniors got a 2-0 victory at La Bombonera against Brazil’s Cruzeiro. And the final quarter, the only one without an Argentine club involved, saw Chile’s Colo-Colo fall 2-0 at home against Brazilian club Palmeiras. If things hold to form, we will likely see two Brazilian clubs and two Argentine clubs in the final four.

Two of those four quarterfinal contests were especially significant in the context of one of the biggest derbies in all of South America. Both sides of Argentina’s Superclásico are involved in the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores, and they now have to take on one another on Sunday. Let’s discuss that match and a couple other big games coming up as we preview the action throughout South America this weekend.

River Plate and Boca Juniors always promises a historic encounter

Leading into Sunday’s showdown at La Bombonera in La Boca district in Buenos Aires, River Plate and Boca Juniors have faced one another in 245 official matches. 209 have come in the various guises of the Liga Argentina, with the road team winning each of the past three league contests.

In the past these two clubs would get to play twice a season, once at La Bombonera and once at River Plate’s home venue, El Monumental, in the northern Buenos Aires district of Belgrano. With the Superliga Argentina still bloated at 26 teams, though, the league’s clubs only play only one match against every opponent this year.

That means that classic derbies like the Superclásico only get played once a year, with only one side getting to host the rivalry contest. It makes such matches all the more significant, as bragging rights end up lasting for an entire season rather than just a few months until the next encounter. In previous Superliga campaigns, each club would get to play their rival twice.

But the league opted to eliminate the home-and-home rivalry series as a part of the annual calendar, making such matches all the more critical this year. With Boca Juniors getting the right to host this season, they have a clear advantage. A win on the road would put River level with Boca Juniors and would have the lead in the table on goal differential. A Boca victory on its home pitch would allow them to keep pace with Racing Club.

Speaking of Racing, they will know where everyone stands when they take on Unión in the weekend-ending match on Monday at El Cilindro in Avellaneda. Currently two points clear in the table, they must at least draw to stay atop the table. Two points back, Atlético Tucumán takes on San Martín in another local derby with major implications in the Superliga table.

Nacional and Cerro Porteño play the featured match in Paraguay

In Paraguay, Nacional and Cerro Porteño continue to look like the strongest challengers to Olimpia at the top of the table. Cerro Porteño currently sits just one point behind the league leaders, while Nacional is a further five points behind. They face one another on Sunday as the second- and third-ranked teams in the Clausura table

This match could either help close the gap and compress things further in the table, if Nacional wins, or it could result in Olimpia getting the chance to open up a wider lead in the table. The current Paraguayan leaders play 3 de Febrero for their 11th match of the season, a match that will almost certainly end in victory for Olimpia.

Thus this weekend’s duel between Nacional and Cerro becomes a critical match for both sides. If Cerro Porteño hopes to keep pace with Olimpia, they have to win this encounter on the road. And if Nacional is going to maintain any hope of clawing back into the title race in the back half of the season, they cannot drop points against the teams against which they are directly competing for position. Either way, it should be a wide-open affair in Asunción on Sunday evening.

Emelec faces Delfin in top-four matchup in Ecuador

Ecuador hits the halfway point of its season this weekend, and there is a major matchup on the calendar this weekend. Emelec faces Delfín in a top-four matchup on Saturday that could allow Macará to take over the lead in the Serie A table.

Emelec currently leads the league heading toward the midpoint, and they have scored more than twice as many goals as they have allowed this year. In contrast, Delfín has scored four fewer goals than Emelec and allowed three more for a positive-two goal differential.

If Macará wins over El Nacional on Friday night as expected, it will put all the pressure on Emelec for the Saturday showdown. An Emelec draw or defeat would give Macará sole possession of leadership in the Ecuadorian table.

Further, if Delfín does pull off the win they will get the chance to potentially move up to third place in the table, depending on whether Barcelona SC wins or loses against LDU Quito. A Barcelona loss coupled with a Delfín victory would give an opening to leapfrong in the table.

Stay tuned all weekend as these matches and more take place throughout South America, and stay tuned on Monday when we review the action from the weekend.