Team News
Boca boss Julio Falcioni will only make one change to the side that defeated Olimpo de Bahia Blanca on Friday, with recent Uruguayan signing Santiago Silva replacing Pablo Mouche in the Boca attack. It seemed that playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme could be in doubt for the game, however, Falcioni has since named him in Boca’s starting eleven.
Meanwhile, Oscar Gil, the coach of Zamora, has yet to announce his starting eleven, but club president Adelis Chavez, the younger brother of Venezuela president Hugo, affirmed that the Venezuelans are more than capable of causing an upset.
Form
Boca come into the clash with an impressive 31-game unbeaten run under their belt in official matches, something which they will intend to extend against Zamora. Los Xeneizes started their defense of the Argentine championship with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Olimpo at the Bombonera stadium on Friday. But they needed a penalty shootout to dispose of third-tier club Santamarina in the Copa Argentina in early February.
Zamora, who will make their Copa Libertadores debut, find themselves in fourth-place of the Venezuelan first division, with two wins, two draws and a loss from five games. On Friday they fought out a 2-2 draw with Deportivo Petare at the Olimpico de la UCV stadium.
Players to Watch
Silva - The new signing will be hoping to make a good impression on his official Boca debut. The striker, who led Velez Sarsfield to the semi-finals of the competition last year, will likely be a constant menace for the visiting defense, due to his physical presence and aerial strength.
Jhon Cordoba - Zamora’s chances of breaking through the rock-solid Boca defense will lie on the shoulders of the Colombian goal-poacher. Cordoba was attained from Petare for the purpose of providing Zamora with more attacking punch.
Prediction
The prospect of facing Boca already seems too much of a daunting task for the Venezuelans, particularly because they have no Copa Libertadores experience whatsoever. Although they will give it their all, they will more than likely be undone by a far superior Boca outfit who haven’t suffered a single defeat in 31 encounters.
The Verdict:
Zamora 0-2 Boca
