Following a 1-0 defeat in Ecuador last week, Gremio must beat Liga de Quito at the Gremio Arena of Porto Alegre to have any chances of advancing to the Group Stage of South America's biggest club competition.
Gremio, who spent big money in the offseason in order to build a competitive squad for the Copa Libertadores and the Brasileiro, returned home from the Ecuadorian capital with a painful defeat, however, Vanderlei Luxemburgo's side will still rate their chances of progressing.
The Porto Alegre-based club contain a star-studded line-up with the likes of Elano, Ze Roberto, Marcelo Martins Moreno as well as new recruits Dida, Eduardo Vargas and Cris and will be hoping to take advantage of their vast depth at the newly-built 60,000-capacity Gremio Arena.
Gremio, who beat Hamburg of Germany 2-1 in the inaugural match at the stadium in December, understand that they are up against an extremely difficult Liga de Quito side, who have made great progress internationally in recent years, which includes Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and Recopa Sudamericana title triumphs.
For the clash, Gremio will be unable to count with the services of Dida, as the former Brazilian national team goalkeeper suffered a shoulder injury in the first leg. Dida will be replaced in goal by Marcelo Grohe.
Cris, who recently joined the club from Galatasaray, is in doubt for the match after struggling with a shin knock. If he doesn't recover in time, he's likely to be replaced by either Grolli or Bressan.
According to reports new signing Vargas is expected to partner Martins Moreno in what promises to be a powerful strike-force.
Meanwhile, rivals Liga travelled to Brazil without three key players in veteran midfielder Patricio Urrutia, Francisco Rojas and captain Norberto Araujo, who are all injured.
But the good news is that Federico Hidalgo and Carlos Garces have recovered from injury just in time for the clash, and are likely to form part of Edgardo Bauza's starting eleven.
Probable Starting Line-ups:
GREMIO: Marcelo Grohe, Para, Cris, Saimon, Alex Telles, Fernando, Souza, Elano, Ze Roberto, Eduardo Vargas and Marcelo Martins Moreno.
LIGA DE QUITO: Alexander Dominguez, Ignacio Canuto, Eduardo Morante, Koob Hurtado, Jose Madrid, Neicer Reasco, Fernando Hidalgo, Enrique Vera, Luis Santana, Carlos Feraud and Carlos Garces.
STADIUM: Gremio Arena, Porto Alegre.
FIRST LEG: Liga 1-0 Gremio (Carlos Feraud 75th minute)
PREDICTION: Gremio 3-1 Liga
