Brazilian quartet Flamengo, Vasco, Sao Paulo and Botafogo seek passage to quarters.
Much is at stake as the Copa Sudamericana reaches its decisive stages. Up until now only Liga de Quito of Ecuador have booked their ticket to the quarter-finals of the competition, after having eliminated defending champions Independiente of Argentina last week.
The outcome of seven more ties will be known by the end of this and next week, and the action is expected to be of the highest caliber, as several teams are playing attractive soccer.
Despite all being intriguing match-ups, the pick of the bunch will be the clash between Flamengo and Universidad de Chile, where an in-form Ronaldinho will be hoping to steer his side closer towards the final.
Since the Copa Sudamericana was established in 2002, only one Brazilian team have won the competition, this being Internacional of Porto Alegre in 2008, when they beat Estudiantes de La Plata in the final.
After fighting out a goalless draw in Paraguay, Arsenal de Sarandi have everything in their favour to reach the next phase of the Copa Sudamericana when they entertain Olimpia in the return leg of the tie in Argentina on Wednesday.
Arsenal, whose only international title came in 2007 when it won the Sudamericana, need to be on the alert because as Olimpia proved against Emelec, they are very strong when playing on the road. It is likely to be a very evenly balanced clash, that could be decided by a single goal.
Flamengo meet Universidad de Chile in a highly anticipated clash between two South American heavyweights. The Brazilians will hope to avenge their elimination to La 'U' in the quarter-finals of last year's Copa Libertadores, with an important victory at the Engenhao stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Vanderlei Luxemburgo, the coach of Flamengo, will count with his main asset, former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho, as well as Thiago Neves and Deivid. All three of these players can decide a match on their own.
However, Flamengo must be aware of the fact that Universidad Catolica are experts at picking up points on the road, having cruised into this phase by beating Nacional in Montevideo. The Chileans were up 2-0 early on, and had the match not been suspended due to security reasons they could have won by a much greater margin.
Flamengo and Universidad are very talented teams, so you can expect an exciting match where tempers may flare, due to the fact that both teams are so determined to finish victorious.
Having missed out on the 2011 Copa Libertadores - South America's biggest club competition - Brazilian giants Sao Paulo make a return to the international stage and will be hoping to make the most of the opportunity even though they find themselves in the middle of a crisis.
Sao Paulo's heavy defeat to Atletico Goianiense on the weekend led to the dismissal of their coach Adilson Batista. Now it is up to interim coach Milton Cruz to join the pieces, and a victory over Paraguay's Libertad at the Morumbi stadium will be the perfect way to do this. Star striker Luis Fabiano has recently returned to action after a lengthy injury layoff, and will be desperate to find the back of the net.
Libertad have also seen better days, after losing a key league match to league leaders Nacional on the weekend, but the Paraguayans are always a solid outfit and will travel to Brazil with high hopes.
Argentine Clausura champions Velez Sarsfield picked up a comfortable 2-0 victory over Universidad Catolica in Santiago last week, and are expected to cruise into the following stage of the tournament without too many problems in Buenos Aires on Thursday.
Velez have returned to winning ways in recent weeks, and coach Ricardo Gareca knows that his side counts with sufficient quality not only to win this game but the entire tournament. Having said this, it would be suicide to come into the second leg with Catolica feeling too confident, because clear in their memory will still be the home defeat they suffered against the Chileans in Liniers in the Copa Libertadores earlier in the year.
Catolica have nothing to lose, and will battle right until the end. They come into the clash with high morale, having crushed Colo Colo in the Santiago derby 4-0 for the Chilean championship on the weekend.
Godoy Cruz travel to Peru with plenty of confidence despite only drawing 1-1 with Universitario in the first leg of the match-up in Mendoza. The Argentines will try to make the most of the international experience they gained in the Libertadores this year, to pull off a good result in Lima, in order to return home with passage into the quarter-finals.
Universitario know that they were unlucky not to have claimed a victory in Argentina, after conceding a late equaliser, but the Peruvians will try their best to take advantage of the fact that they will be playing in-front of their own fans.
Despite being held to a 1-1 draw in Rio, Botafogo know that they are more than capable of upsetting Santa Fe in Bogota. The Brazilians count with a very strong side, where Uruguayan striker Sebastian Abreu reigns supreme, after having scored several important goals for the side this year.
Botafogo, who are still in the hunt for the Brazilian championship, are very dangerous when moving forward, however their defense can be quite vulnerable at times. Santa Fe are more than aware of this, and their strategy will be to pile heavy pressure on the Brazilian goal straight from the kick-off.
Vasco da Gama have no choice but to overturn a 3-1 deficit against Aurora in the return leg of their Sudamericana tie. Despite starting well the 2,570 metre altitude in Cochabamba had a clear effect on their performance. But Vasco have fared well during normal circumstances, and currently share leadership of the Brazilian league with Corinthians.
The Rio de Janeiro-based side have experienced a tremendous 2011, as not only did they win the Copa do Brasil earlier in the year, but they are also on track for a rare treble, with the Sudamericana and the Brasileiro still on the horizon.
After going behind, Aurora caught Vasco by surprise in Bolivia with three goals, and will be hoping to close-in on a quarter-finals berth. The strategy of the Bolivians will surely be to sit back and absorb pressure, in an attempt to hit Vasco hard on the counterattack when least expected.
The outcome of seven more ties will be known by the end of this and next week, and the action is expected to be of the highest caliber, as several teams are playing attractive soccer.
Despite all being intriguing match-ups, the pick of the bunch will be the clash between Flamengo and Universidad de Chile, where an in-form Ronaldinho will be hoping to steer his side closer towards the final.
Since the Copa Sudamericana was established in 2002, only one Brazilian team have won the competition, this being Internacional of Porto Alegre in 2008, when they beat Estudiantes de La Plata in the final.
After fighting out a goalless draw in Paraguay, Arsenal de Sarandi have everything in their favour to reach the next phase of the Copa Sudamericana when they entertain Olimpia in the return leg of the tie in Argentina on Wednesday.
Arsenal, whose only international title came in 2007 when it won the Sudamericana, need to be on the alert because as Olimpia proved against Emelec, they are very strong when playing on the road. It is likely to be a very evenly balanced clash, that could be decided by a single goal.
Flamengo meet Universidad de Chile in a highly anticipated clash between two South American heavyweights. The Brazilians will hope to avenge their elimination to La 'U' in the quarter-finals of last year's Copa Libertadores, with an important victory at the Engenhao stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Vanderlei Luxemburgo, the coach of Flamengo, will count with his main asset, former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho, as well as Thiago Neves and Deivid. All three of these players can decide a match on their own.
However, Flamengo must be aware of the fact that Universidad Catolica are experts at picking up points on the road, having cruised into this phase by beating Nacional in Montevideo. The Chileans were up 2-0 early on, and had the match not been suspended due to security reasons they could have won by a much greater margin.
Flamengo and Universidad are very talented teams, so you can expect an exciting match where tempers may flare, due to the fact that both teams are so determined to finish victorious.
Having missed out on the 2011 Copa Libertadores - South America's biggest club competition - Brazilian giants Sao Paulo make a return to the international stage and will be hoping to make the most of the opportunity even though they find themselves in the middle of a crisis.
Sao Paulo's heavy defeat to Atletico Goianiense on the weekend led to the dismissal of their coach Adilson Batista. Now it is up to interim coach Milton Cruz to join the pieces, and a victory over Paraguay's Libertad at the Morumbi stadium will be the perfect way to do this. Star striker Luis Fabiano has recently returned to action after a lengthy injury layoff, and will be desperate to find the back of the net.
Libertad have also seen better days, after losing a key league match to league leaders Nacional on the weekend, but the Paraguayans are always a solid outfit and will travel to Brazil with high hopes.
Argentine Clausura champions Velez Sarsfield picked up a comfortable 2-0 victory over Universidad Catolica in Santiago last week, and are expected to cruise into the following stage of the tournament without too many problems in Buenos Aires on Thursday.
Velez have returned to winning ways in recent weeks, and coach Ricardo Gareca knows that his side counts with sufficient quality not only to win this game but the entire tournament. Having said this, it would be suicide to come into the second leg with Catolica feeling too confident, because clear in their memory will still be the home defeat they suffered against the Chileans in Liniers in the Copa Libertadores earlier in the year.
Catolica have nothing to lose, and will battle right until the end. They come into the clash with high morale, having crushed Colo Colo in the Santiago derby 4-0 for the Chilean championship on the weekend.
Godoy Cruz travel to Peru with plenty of confidence despite only drawing 1-1 with Universitario in the first leg of the match-up in Mendoza. The Argentines will try to make the most of the international experience they gained in the Libertadores this year, to pull off a good result in Lima, in order to return home with passage into the quarter-finals.
Universitario know that they were unlucky not to have claimed a victory in Argentina, after conceding a late equaliser, but the Peruvians will try their best to take advantage of the fact that they will be playing in-front of their own fans.
Despite being held to a 1-1 draw in Rio, Botafogo know that they are more than capable of upsetting Santa Fe in Bogota. The Brazilians count with a very strong side, where Uruguayan striker Sebastian Abreu reigns supreme, after having scored several important goals for the side this year.
Botafogo, who are still in the hunt for the Brazilian championship, are very dangerous when moving forward, however their defense can be quite vulnerable at times. Santa Fe are more than aware of this, and their strategy will be to pile heavy pressure on the Brazilian goal straight from the kick-off.
Vasco da Gama have no choice but to overturn a 3-1 deficit against Aurora in the return leg of their Sudamericana tie. Despite starting well the 2,570 metre altitude in Cochabamba had a clear effect on their performance. But Vasco have fared well during normal circumstances, and currently share leadership of the Brazilian league with Corinthians.
The Rio de Janeiro-based side have experienced a tremendous 2011, as not only did they win the Copa do Brasil earlier in the year, but they are also on track for a rare treble, with the Sudamericana and the Brasileiro still on the horizon.
After going behind, Aurora caught Vasco by surprise in Bolivia with three goals, and will be hoping to close-in on a quarter-finals berth. The strategy of the Bolivians will surely be to sit back and absorb pressure, in an attempt to hit Vasco hard on the counterattack when least expected.
