Paranaense Travel to Guadalajara to Take on Chivas.

By: Mauro | September 24th, 2008

Club Deportivo Guadalajara (Chivas) vs. Clube Atlético Paranaense (Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico)

LIVE @ 6pm PST on Fox Sports Español. No Gamecast. Online TV here.

This match might be the first real roadblock that Chivas have in this year’s competition. Chivas advanced ahead of Venezuelan side Aragua F.C. in the last round by the skin of their teeth. Meanwhile Paranaense registered the first upset in this year’s cup by ousting fellow Brazilian side, São Paulo F.C. in the First Round of play.

On paper and at first glance, Chivas might be in for quite the beating, but Paranaense, as all Brazilian sides so far, don’t take this competition seriously. The problem is that most Brazilian clubs are fighting for better positions in the Brasileirao, ones that might qualify them for the Libertadores, where the prize money and prestige of wining that tournament is substantially larger.

In Paranaense’s case, they are trying to focus on winning a few matches in the Brasilierao, so that they can get out of the bottom of the table to avoid relegation (they are currently in 16th place). Paranense are coming off a 0-0 draw with league leaders Gremio.

So, while spirits are high, the Brazilian club has left most of their starting 11 in Brazil and sent along a squad of youngsters to represent the club as coach Euenio Machado Souto Gedinho has said, the Brasileirao is far more important to the club than the Sudamericana.

Chivas, on the other hand, qualified for this match by the skin of their teeth. Beating Aragua F.C. by only a single goal on aggregate, they showed poor offensive production and to be the less worse off of the two squads. But since Mexican sides usually are tough to beat at home in CONMEBOL competitions and South American sides are already notorious for not performing well at away matches, Chivas could have a bit of an advantage.

In the last match up between these two sides, Paranaense eliminated Chivas in the semifinals of the 2005 Copa Libertadores. That year, in the second leg in Guadalajara, they drew 2-2 with the Brazilians who won 3-0 in the first leg at home.

Bottom Line: It’s no secret, South American sides don’t perform well after long flights. This and the fact that Paranaense will be fielding a side of substitutes even out the balance and even give Chivas a bit of an advantage, as unlikely as it seems.

My pick: 1-0 to Chivas. Paranaense can’t win in away fashion and Chivas will just barely squeeze it out.

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 one here.