Along with the rest of the world, I am focusing on the UEFA Champions League at the moment, since the finals are in a few hours, but I would be remiss if I passed on the opportunity to follow-up with the WCR Copa Libertadores prediction series. The Copa Libertadores quarterfinals begin tonight with a pair of matches, so let’s get to the predicting.
Unlike the UEFA Cup, where the predictions were a shot in the dark, but consistent with the Champions League, we here at WCR have had a good season thus far in our predictificationizing. In the first knockout stage of the South American championship tournament, we were 7-1, including our prediction of Defensor Sporting over Boca Juniors, which was an apparent surprise to many. Our one mistake? We picked Libertad over Estudiantes. Oh well, nobody’s perfect. What’s going to happen in the quarterfinals? Let’s discuss.
There are four clubs in the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals that also are in the most recent WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World. All of the participating clubs are among the top sixty-five clubs in the world, with some help from the bonus points awarded for reaching the continental quarterfinals. All of our predictions in this round will be consistent with the current rankings.
Who do we love? We continue to love the Brazilian clubs this season. The clubs from the Brasileirao were 4-1 in the first knockout round, with the only loser (SPORT Recife) falling to another club from Brazil (Palmeiras). We believe that trend will continue, at least in the quarterfinals.
The top three clubs from last season’s Brazilian Serie A are in the top half of the Copa Libertadores draw, with two of them facing off in the quarterfinals. In addition to a league matchup this coming Saturday, Sao Paolo and Cruzeiro will face off in this tournament. Sao Paolo has struggled thus far in the Brasileiro, which is consistent with last season when it overcame a slow start to win the Serie A title. We believe the reason for this is the club’s focus on the Copa Libertadores at this point in the season. At least, that’s what we’re telling ourselves. Our prediction:
(8) Sao Paolo (Bra) over (20) Cruzeiro (Bra)
The winner of that matchup will face the winner between Brazil’s Gremio and Venezuela’s Caracas FC. Caracas played admirably to reach the quarterfinals of this tournament, winning its group, which included Mexico’s Chivas de Guadalajara and current Argentine Clausura leaders Lanus, before getting past Ecuador’s Deportivo Cuenca in the round of sixteen. We believe, however, that the run will end here and Gremio’s superior fire power will prevail. Our prediction:
(13) Gremio (Bra) over (64) Caracas FC (Ven)
There is one Brazilian club in the bottom half of the draw, along with the only remaining Argentine club and a pair of Uruguayan clubs. Palmeiras had a tough draw in the first round in the knockout stages, needing penalty kicks to get by compatriots SPORT Recife. Meanwhile, Nacional walked through the prior round following San Luis and the rest of the Mexican’s federation withdrawal from CONMEBOL competition. We are going to go with Palmeiras, who is coming off of a scoreless draw with Sao Paolo over the weekend and is on the verge of entering the WCR Top 25. Our prediction:
(28) Palmeiras (Bra) over (48) Nacional (Uru)
In the final matchup, we have the current Uruguayan leaders Defensor Sporting, fresh off an upset defeat of the tournament’s second seed, Boca Juniors, taking on the last remaining Argentine club in Estudiantes. Defensor has been playing well all season in its domestic league, while Estudiantes has struggled some in Argentina. That was the basis for our prediction of Defensor Sporting over Boca Juniors and is also the basis for our prediction in this round. Our prediction:
(25) Defensor Sporting (Uru) over (40) Estudiantes (Arg)
That is it for this round. It’ll be a few weeks before we see the results, but we’ll be watching closely and suggest you do the same now that European action is concluding. Enjoy the matches!!!
Unlike the UEFA Cup, where the predictions were a shot in the dark, but consistent with the Champions League, we here at WCR have had a good season thus far in our predictificationizing. In the first knockout stage of the South American championship tournament, we were 7-1, including our prediction of Defensor Sporting over Boca Juniors, which was an apparent surprise to many. Our one mistake? We picked Libertad over Estudiantes. Oh well, nobody’s perfect. What’s going to happen in the quarterfinals? Let’s discuss.
There are four clubs in the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals that also are in the most recent WCR Top 25 Clubs in the World. All of the participating clubs are among the top sixty-five clubs in the world, with some help from the bonus points awarded for reaching the continental quarterfinals. All of our predictions in this round will be consistent with the current rankings.
Who do we love? We continue to love the Brazilian clubs this season. The clubs from the Brasileirao were 4-1 in the first knockout round, with the only loser (SPORT Recife) falling to another club from Brazil (Palmeiras). We believe that trend will continue, at least in the quarterfinals.
The top three clubs from last season’s Brazilian Serie A are in the top half of the Copa Libertadores draw, with two of them facing off in the quarterfinals. In addition to a league matchup this coming Saturday, Sao Paolo and Cruzeiro will face off in this tournament. Sao Paolo has struggled thus far in the Brasileiro, which is consistent with last season when it overcame a slow start to win the Serie A title. We believe the reason for this is the club’s focus on the Copa Libertadores at this point in the season. At least, that’s what we’re telling ourselves. Our prediction:
(8) Sao Paolo (Bra) over (20) Cruzeiro (Bra)
The winner of that matchup will face the winner between Brazil’s Gremio and Venezuela’s Caracas FC. Caracas played admirably to reach the quarterfinals of this tournament, winning its group, which included Mexico’s Chivas de Guadalajara and current Argentine Clausura leaders Lanus, before getting past Ecuador’s Deportivo Cuenca in the round of sixteen. We believe, however, that the run will end here and Gremio’s superior fire power will prevail. Our prediction:
(13) Gremio (Bra) over (64) Caracas FC (Ven)
There is one Brazilian club in the bottom half of the draw, along with the only remaining Argentine club and a pair of Uruguayan clubs. Palmeiras had a tough draw in the first round in the knockout stages, needing penalty kicks to get by compatriots SPORT Recife. Meanwhile, Nacional walked through the prior round following San Luis and the rest of the Mexican’s federation withdrawal from CONMEBOL competition. We are going to go with Palmeiras, who is coming off of a scoreless draw with Sao Paolo over the weekend and is on the verge of entering the WCR Top 25. Our prediction:
(28) Palmeiras (Bra) over (48) Nacional (Uru)
In the final matchup, we have the current Uruguayan leaders Defensor Sporting, fresh off an upset defeat of the tournament’s second seed, Boca Juniors, taking on the last remaining Argentine club in Estudiantes. Defensor has been playing well all season in its domestic league, while Estudiantes has struggled some in Argentina. That was the basis for our prediction of Defensor Sporting over Boca Juniors and is also the basis for our prediction in this round. Our prediction:
(25) Defensor Sporting (Uru) over (40) Estudiantes (Arg)
That is it for this round. It’ll be a few weeks before we see the results, but we’ll be watching closely and suggest you do the same now that European action is concluding. Enjoy the matches!!!
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