Arsenal de Sarandi and Sport Huancayo will be hoping to kick-off the first stage of the 2012 Copa Libertadores in grand style when they clash on Tuesday.
The 53rd edition of the Copa Libertadores, South America's biggest club competition, kicks-off on Tuesday with two clashes corresponding to the first stage play-offs. Firstly, Arsenal de Sarandi of Argentina will be up against Sport Huancayo of Peru in Buenos Aires and then El Nacional of Ecuador take on Libertad of Paraguay in Quito.

The home teams, in particular, will be forced to claim convincing victories, because a negative result could prematurely spell an end to their campaigns - home ground advantage can prove vital in the Copa Libertadores due to a wide range of factors.

Neither of the four teams have won the competition before, but will have no choice but to commence their respective campaigns on a high note, considering that only the winners will move onto the group stage of the competition.
 

Arsenal de Sarandi and Sport Huancayo clash in the inaugurating match of the first stage of the competition at the Julio Humberto Grondona stadium on Tuesday.





While Arsenal have gathered Copa Libertadores experience over the years, it will be the first time that Sport Huancayo participate in South America's maximum club competition.





Gustavo Alfaro, the coach of Arsenal, counts with a solid squad that come into the tie as the odds on favourites.





Meanwhile, Sport consist of a limited squad that surprised many after obtaining qualification for the competition. The last time the Peruvians took part in an international competition was in the 2009 Copa Sudamericana, when they were eliminated after being on the wrong end of a 9-0 humiliation to Defensor Sporting of Uruguay.





Miguel Company, the coach of Sport, stated that his team must forget that painful defeat and concentrate on their latest challenge.





"I would have liked to have had more time and more reinforcements, but we will confront [the competition] with the necessary responsibility and not with preoccupation," said Company.





One of their most notable signings was that of 39-year-old striker Sergio Ibarra, who is the highest goal-scorer of the history of Peruvian soccer, with 243 goals to his name.





Arsenal will be expected to claim a comfortable victory in Argentina, in order to confront the return leg in Peru with a substantial advantage.


El Nacional lock horns with Libertad in what is expected to be a hotly contested play-off between two teams that have lots to offer.





Both teams have featured in numerous editions of the Copa Libertadores, but neither side have reached the final to date.





El Nacional, who have a policy for not signing foreigners in preference of home-grown players, have reinforced their squad with several young players, from the hand of Uruguayan coach Marcelo Saralegui.





Their leading goal-scorer, Juan Luis Anangono scored 23 goals in the local competition last year, and much of El Nacional's success weighs on his shoulders.





Due to the depth of Libertad, it is vital that El Nacional take full advantage of the high altitude of the Olimpico Atahualpa stadium in Quito in the first leg.





Libertad contain a host of foreigners in their squad, as well as players with vast national team experience. The Asuncion-based side are without doubt one of the most consistent teams on the continent, and their objective will be to reach the later stages of the competition this year.





Coming into the decisive play-off, the Paraguayans participated in a mini-tournament in Montevideo, which included rivals Olimpia and Uruguayan giants Nacional and Penarol. Having lost 2-0 against Olimpia in their first match, they went on to claim a 2-2 draw with Penarol.





It is likely to be a very evenly balanced match-up, even if Libertad appear to be slightly the stronger side.