A Distracted Palmeiras Host Up and Comers Argentinos Juniors.

By: Mauro | October 22nd, 2008

Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras vs. Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors (Estádio Palestra Italia “Parque Antartica”, São Paulo, Brazil)

No TV. Fox Sports Español believes MLB World Series coverage is more important. Lame. No Gamecast either. Match starts at 5pm PST. Online TV only here.

While Fox Sports Español are giving no love to this match, I believe that this one could be one of the more exciting matches taking place tonight. Argentinos Juniors will try to take advantage of a distracted Palmeiras side who is completely focused on the fight at the top of the Brasileirao and has been fielding alternate squads in this tournament.

Since coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo is not a big fan of this competition because of the timing and the fact that he believes the sacrifices outweigh the benefits, we may not get to see the best this talented Brazilian side have to offer. Still, Palmeiras are the favorites coming into this one.

They advanced over Vasco da Gama in the First Round, losing away in the first leg, 3-1 and then taking care of business at home in the second leg, 3-0 to advance. They had trouble once they had to leave the borders of Brazil. They struggled with Sport Ancash in the Round of 16, managing only a 0-0 draw in Peru in the first leg and then squeaking by 1-0 in the second leg on a very rainy Brazilian night.

Palmeiras are coming off of a 2-2 draw at home in the Brasileirao against their own cross town rival, São Paulo. This result has left them in third place, only one point behind league leaders Gremio. With a big match against bottom dwellers Fluminense this weekend, Luxemburgo will most likely rest his better players in tonight’s match.

Only suspended players, Roque Junior and Diego Souza (both sent off in the last Brasileirao match) and Leo Lima (yellow card accumulation) and Jumar, who sat out the São Paulo match, are confirmed to play tonight.

Skipper and keeper Marcos might make way for Bruno to take his place while we’ll most likely see Fabinho Capixaba and Jefferson on the flanks, Mauricio in the center of defense and Evandro in the midfield. The two starting forwards will come from Maicosuel, Thiago Cunha or Denílson.

Argentinos situation is somewhat different from their opponents tonight. They are coming off a 2-0 win over Huracán, a win that gives them 10 points from 10 matches and leaves them in 16th place in the Argentine Apertura, just two points ahead of dead last Rosario Central. A picture far from perfect.

But here in the Sudamericana, it’s a different story. Argentinos took care of San Lorenzo (Apertura leaders) in the First Round, drawing at home, 0-0 and surprisingly beating them away, 2-0. They then faced a very talented Mexican side in San Luis, where they lost in Mexico, but only 1-2, and then won the second leg, 2-0, at the Diego Maradona.

Expect to see the same line up that beat Huracán last Friday on the pitch tonight.

Bottom Line: Palmeiras is not really interested in this competition but the ones who really are, are the youngsters who are coming off the bench and reserve side for a shot at getting some playing time with the first team. I expect to see a hungry side that will want the win. But a similar side to this one had trouble putting away Sport Ancash and took a beating at the hands of a decimated Vasco side in the First Round. So it really depends on which Palmeiras side shows up.

Argentinos form in the Sudamericana is on the up slope, they are sort of like “the little engine that could.” Starting off not so great, they are now looking good and getting results to boot. They have Nicolás Pavlovich, who has 3 goals in this competition and has been on fire for Argentinos. They have a tight little squad and are hungry. The strike force up front are scary good and may not last at Argentinos once the January transfer window opens up in Europe.

My Pick: 2-1 to Palmeiras. Palmeiras get the win but fail to contain either Gabriel Hauche or Nicolás Pavlovich.

Feel free to check the CONMEBOL website for results and information about upcoming matches and for those of you in need of a bracket to get your heads around the competition, get an updated one here.