Nacional vs River Plate Prediction and Betting Tips: Best Bets for Copa Libertadores Clash
Nacional will host River Plate in the Copa Libertadores group stage at 1am BST on Wednesday 8th May, with the clash taking place at the Gran Parque Central Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay.
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The group stages of the Copa Libertadores are reaching crunch time, with just three rounds of games remaining before the knockout phase begins.
River Plate are currently top of Group H, having won all three of their games so far but Nacional, who the Argentinian side beat 2-0 last month, are just three points behind in second.
The Uruguayan outfit will be feeling confident despite that loss to River as they are unbeaten in their last 13 matches at the Gran Parque Central Stadium, suggesting Martin Demichelis’ side will need to be at their best to get a result in Montevideo.
Nacional vs River Plate Tips
While Nacional have been impressive at home recently, the challenge River Plate will pose is far greater than anything they will have faced in that run.
The Argentinian side are giants of South American football and are four-time winners of the Copa Libertadores.
Demichelis’ men bounced back from a 3-2 Superclasico defeat to bitter rivals Boca Juniors with a 2-1 win over Libertad in this competition and they could be set to inflict more misery on a Uruguayan team.
River are unbeaten in their last five Copa Libertadores meetings with Nacional, winning each of the last four in a run dating back to 2009. The aggregate score in that quartet of victories is 11-2 and the Millionaires could prove too strong again.
Demichelis’ side have conceded just once in this year’s tournament, scoring six goals of their own as they have racked up a perfect nine points to date, and Nacional will have to settle for second in Group H as they are likely to fall short in this clash.
River Plate have had six different scorers in the Copa Libertadores this term and a seventh could make his presence felt in this competition on Wednesday, with Miguel Borja fancied to find the net in Montevideo.
A winner of the competition in 2016 with Colombian side Atletico Nacional, Borja has been excellent ever since joining River, scoring 33 goals in just 40 starts for the Millionaires and his record in the Libertadores is outstanding too.
The Colombian forward has 21 goals in 48 Copa Libertadores appearances and he is clearly a man for the big occasion having opened the scoring in last month’s Superclasico.
Take Borja to step up in another big game as the top two in Group H face off and score the opening goal in Wednesday’s clash to kick off your bet builder.
While River should prove too strong for Nacional, it seems unlikely that Borja’s opener would be one of many goals in Montevideo.
None of Nacional’s seven Copa Libertadores matches this season have gone over 3.5 goals, while the same is true for the Millionaires’ three.
The previous meeting between the pair produced just two strikes and it would be no surprise to see another low-scoring affair play out on Wednesday, so back under four goals alongside Borja to net first to create a tasty 5/1 bet builder.
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