Estudiantes
In the first leg of the Copa Libertadores Round of 16, Argentina's Estudiantes de La Plata host Chile's Universidad Catolica. The match at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata gets under way 12 August 2026 at 01:30 BST.
Estudiantes de La Plata scraped through the group, and they are now stuttering in the Argentine league, so the bookmakers' faith in them is even rather surprising.
Are Estudiantes going to trade on their pedigree as four-time Copa Libertadores champions? Universidad Católica are no less of a force, despite never having won continental silverware. Chilean football is associated with them.
Estudiantes have started the Argentine Clausura with three defeats in four matches. They only managed to beat an unremarkable Defensa y Justicia side 3:0 at home. The Students scraped into the Copa Libertadores knockout stage at the last moment. In the crucial final match against their main rivals Independiente Medellín, they only scored the winner in the 90th minute. Had the draw remained, the Argentine side would only have reached the Copa Sudamericana play-offs. Both Teams to Score - No has landed in Alexander Medina's side's last five matches, so it will be crucial who scores first. The hosts won only three of them.
Universidad Católica are doing relatively well in the Chilean league. They are in the top three but trail their main rivals Universidad de Chile and Colo-Colo. They are 15 points behind the leaders. However, in their Copa Libertadores group, which included Cruzeiro and Boca Juniors, the Santiago side finished first, losing only once — 1:2 at home to Boca in the opening round. It may surprise some, but UC took maximum points away from home. The Chilean side therefore know how to focus in important matches and when facing hostility from the stands.
Given this, and the fact that Estudiantes themselves recently lost 0:1 to Boca, it is logical to back Universidad Católica with at least a minimal +1 handicap.
Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Matches - 7 (international fixtures, 2025-2026);
Average fouls per match - 22;
Average yellow cards per match (including second yellows) - 3.4;
Matches with red cards - 1 of 7;
Matches with penalties - 3 of 7.
|
Alexander Medina
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
Line-up
|
|||
|
Néstor Fernando Muslera Micol
|
gk. | 14 | -5 |
|
Eric Exequiel Meza
|
df. | 14 | 0 |
|
Gastón Benedetti Taffarel
|
df. | 15 | 0 |
|
Tiago Tomás Palacios
|
df. | 6 | 0 |
|
Santiago Misael Núñez
|
df. | 12 | 0 |
|
Alexis Castro
|
mf. | 17 | 0 |
|
Lucas Ezequiel Piovi
|
mf. | 17 | 0 |
|
Tiago Asael Palacios
|
mf. | 6 | 3 |
|
Guido Carrillo
|
fw. | 14 | 1 |
|
Fabricio Alexis Pérez Escudero
|
fw. | 17 | 0 |
|
Joaquín Tobio Burgos
|
fw. | 10 | 1 |
|
Substitutes
|
|||
|
Fabricio Iacovich
|
gk. | 7 | 0 |
|
Eros Nazareno Mancuso
|
df. | 1 | 0 |
|
Ramiro Funes Mori
|
df. | 5 | 0 |
|
Valente Pierani
|
df. | 9 | 0 |
|
Facundo Hernán Farías
|
mf. | 11 | 1 |
|
Gabriel Neves Perdomo
|
mf. | 13 | 0 |
|
Sosa
|
mf. | 8 | 0 |
|
Baltasar Luis Gallego Rodríguez
|
mf. | 0 | 0 |
|
Brian Nicolás Aguirre
|
fw. | 6 | 0 |
|
Edwuin Steven Cetré Angulo
|
fw. | 15 | 0 |
|
Adolfo Julián Gaich
|
fw. | 4 | 0 |
|
Carlos Joaquín Correa
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Daniel Garnero
|
coach | ||
| Player | Matches | Goals | |
|
Line-up
|
|||
|
Vicente Bernedo García-Huidobro
|
gk. | 7 | -4 |
|
Cristián Alejandro Cuevas Jara
|
df. | 7 | 0 |
|
Erwin Branco Ampuero Vera
|
df. | 7 | 0 |
|
Eugenio Esteban Mena Reveco
|
df. | 7 | 0 |
|
Daniel Enrique Gónzalez Orellana
|
df. | 6 | 0 |
|
Bernardo Humberto Cerezo Rojas
|
df. | 3 | 0 |
|
Fernando Rubén Zuqui
|
mf. | 7 | 0 |
|
Jhojan Manuel Valencia Jiménez
|
mf. | 7 | 0 |
|
Jimmy Antonio Martínez Ruiz
|
mf. | 6 | 1 |
|
Fernando Matías Zampedri
|
fw. | 7 | 4 |
|
Justo Giani
|
fw. | 7 | 1 |
|
Substitutes
|
|||
|
Darío Esteban Melo Pulgar
|
gk. | 3 | 0 |
|
Francisco Antonio Valdés Ríos
|
gk. | 2 | 0 |
|
Gary Alexis Medel Soto
|
df. | 4 | 0 |
|
Francisco Javier Daza Arzola
|
df. | 0 | 0 |
|
Nicolás Ignacio L'Huillier Wielandt
|
df. | 2 | 0 |
|
Matías Tomás Palavecino
|
mf. | 5 | 0 |
|
Carlos Agustín Farías Sarubo
|
mf. | 4 | 0 |
|
Diego Corral Contreras
|
mf. | 3 | 0 |
|
Alfred Jeafran Canales Céspedes
|
mf. | 3 | 0 |
|
Martín Alejandro Gómez
|
mf. | 3 | 0 |
|
Amaro Alejandro Pérez Cabrera
|
fw. | 0 | 0 |
|
Nickolas Mariano Pino Klimes
|
fw. | 2 | 0 |
Estudiantes
Independiente Medellín
Flamengo Rio de Janeiro
Estudiantes
Cusco
Estudiantes
Estudiantes
Flamengo Rio de Janeiro
Estudiantes
Cusco
Independiente Medellín
Estudiantes
Boca Juniors
U. Catolica
U. Catolica
Barcelona SC Guayaquil
U. Catolica
Cruzeiro
Barcelona SC Guayaquil
U. Catolica
Cruzeiro
U. Catolica
U. Catolica
Boca Juniors
| Bookie | FIRST_TEAM_TO_SCORE_YES | SECOND_TEAM_TO_SCORE_YES |
|---|---|---|
