Caracas vs Santa Fe – News and Probable Lineups

With the need for a two-goal win to remain in contention for the Copa Sudamericana, Caracas is set to host Santa Fe at Estadio Olimpico de la UCV in Venezuela’s capital on Thursday.

In the first leg of this knockout match, the Colombian side achieved a 2-0 victory in Bogotá last week.

Match overview

Caracas faces a challenging task to secure a spot in the last 16 of the Sudamericana, as they have not reached this stage of the tournament since 2018-19.

In order to turn this tie in their favor, they require at least a two-goal win, something they haven’t accomplished since March, when they defeated Trujillanos 4-2 in the Venezuelan Primera Division.

Henry Melendez and his squad are currently on a three-match winless streak across all competitions, having lost their last two competitive fixtures.

Conversely, they have managed points in five of their last seven home games in all competitions, winning four of those matches.

They celebrated a single victory in Caracas during the group stages of this Sudamericana, defeating Independiente Petrolero 1-0 in mid-April.

In three prior Sudamericana encounters with Santa Fe, Los Rojos del Avila have yet to win, with their only positive result being a 0-0 draw in the Venezuelan capital back in 2010.

Meanwhile, Santa Fe has placed themselves in a strong position to progress to the last 16 of this tournament for the first time since 2018.

Although Pablo Repetto’s team is winless in four of their last five away fixtures across all competitions, they have managed to avoid defeat in three of those matches.

This year, they have only suffered a two-goal defeat on two occasions, the most recent being in the Copa Libertadores group stage when Corinthians beat them 2-1.

Since 2016, they have successfully advanced in all their Sudamericana two-legged ties after taking a lead in the first leg, recalling when Cerro Porteno overturned a 2-0 deficit with a 4-1 win in the return leg that year.

The Colombians have won their last four competitive matches when scoring first and have lost just once all year after taking the lead (2-1 against Atletico Nacional in February).

Los Cardenales have never won a Copa Sudamericana match on Venezuelan soil and have not scored in those two visits, having drawn 0-0 with Caracas in the second leg of their second-round tie in 2010 and advancing 2-1 on aggregate.

Team News

Caracas will have striker Lucciano Fabrissio Reinoso Torin available despite previously dealing with stomach issues, as he was on the bench but did not play in the first leg, while Michael Covea has featured in every Sudamericana match for them this season.

Sebastian Gonzalez and Francisco La Mantia were the new additions to the starting lineup last week, replacing Luis Mago and Adrian Fernandez, who had started in their last group match against Botafogo.

For Santa Fe, Juan Sebastian Quintero is the sole significant injury worry due to an ACL issue, while Ewil Murillo is doubtful because of a meniscus problem.

Hugo Rodallega and Franco Fagundez scored in the first leg, with goalkeeper Andres Mosquera only needing to make one save to maintain a clean sheet.

Caracas probable starting XI:

Benitez; Fereira, Quintero, La Mantia, Yendis; Larotonda, Gudino; Correa, Covea, Hernandez; A. Fernandez

Santa Fe probable starting XI:

Mosquera; Palacios, Olivera, Moreno, Angulo; Torres, Bustos, Toscano; Obrian, Rodallega O. Fernandez

Even though Santa Fe has faced difficulties in Venezuela, they are likely to capitalize against a needy Caracas side that lacks significant quality in attack.