Universidad Católica vs Flamengo Match Preview
The second match of group 8 will be facing two teams fighting to claim the second place of its group and move on to the Knockouts. The Brazilians are standing at their second position with a four point advantage against the Universitarios, but upon a victory the Chilean team can shorten that gap to only one point, thus this match will be key for both teams. Back problems have been disturbing Adriano during the week, and so he's not within the players called for this match. Vagner Love's solitude on the offensive might become a problem for team's coach Andrade, so it'll be mandatory for Claudio Maldonado (occupying The Emperor's spot) to be able to live up to manager's expectations, as he's shown he's in a great shape during the match against Vasco Da Gama, returning from a long injury which kept him away from the fields. His comeback comes at a moment of great need, for after two matches against Universidad from Chile the Mengaos need fresh blood to renew their energies.
With only one defeat and no victories Universidad Catolica's future in the cup will be called upon this match, for a defeat will shatter Marco Antonio Figueroa's team qualifying dreams, and a victory might no be enough. Standing 4 points below Flamenco, main enemy on the quest for the knockouts, and unable to count with Rodrigo Toloza (his performance during the week raised doubts regarding whether or not he belongs to the starting eleven) the offensive trident will see no changes: Juan José Morales, Damián Díaz and Milovan Mirosevic as driver will walk the end of the pitch. The Catos have scored eight goals in the last four matches for the league, and such firepower might caught Internacional undefended, granting Figueroa's team a decisive victory.
