Tolima vs Once Caldas Prediction: Can Once Caldas return to 2nd place?

In the upcoming fixture of Colombia Primera A - Clausura, Tolima will face Once Caldas at Stadium Manuel Murillo Toro in Ibagué. The home side head here after a win (2-0), against Alianza. The visitors come into this game also after a win (2-1), against Deportivo Pasto.

Betting tips and odds are provided below.

In the first half of football match between tolima and alianza both the teams began the match on equal terms; although tolima had marginally better control of the match having had 53% of the ball possession while 47% was had by alianza. Tolima was able to manufacture more opportunities, 7 attempts where 2 of them were shots on target while Alianza as much as they were engaging was only able to get 5 attempts and 4 of them were shots on target. But none of the shots were goal mouth and the match remained goalless at the end of the day. The turning point of the game came in the 45th minute when Muñoz J. received a red card and Alianza went to the dressing room with 10 men. In the second half, that would change as the teams’ possession grew more and more lopsided as Tolima took full advantage of their superiority in numbers. The team took a total of seven attempts at goal, but only two of these where shots attempts. Then in the 56th minute an excellent piece of play to score the opening goal put the score at 1-0 by Gil Hurtado B. Alianza on the other hand almost never had the ball and could not create any form of attacking threat for a majority of the time played only had 33% team possession and did not have a single shot on target during this time. Tolima once more asserted hegemony over the game when in the 73rd minute, Gil Hurtado B. netted his second goal, with the score held at 2-0. Alianza tried to regroup after the sending off and although they tried their best the team could not avoid losing. In general, Tolima was dominating the matchmaking 60% of the ball possessions in contrast to Alianza’s 40% and making 14 attempts to create goal opportunities and 4 attempts to make actual shots in contrast to Alianza’s 11 and 4 respectively. Tolima took their opportunities and the advantage of an extra man to win 2-0 while remaining tight at the back. With this result, Tolima is in 5th place in the table with 24 points. In the last 5 league games, the team has recorded 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, with a record of 18 goals scored and 9 goals conceded.

In the other match Once Caldas with a score 2-1 defeated Deportivo Pasto in a quite even game where the team playing at home had more opportunities. In the first half the team with the most attacking ambitions was Once Caldas: 50/50 of ball possession belongs to them, 11 total attempts and 4 of them were considered faithful. Once Caldas’ pressure paid off in the thirtieth-five when Moreno D. scored a penalty and put the team one goal ahead. For Deportivo Pasto, they hardly could generate any major chances and went to the first break with no shots on target despite they dominated 50% of the match. This was the closest that Pasto could get to equalizing the match and getting to half time; they had five off target attempts. Deportivo Pasto was not as intense as the first half and had increased ball possession at 60%, in which they showed more threat. That brought some action that saw goal attempts at 7 and the targeted shots at 3, getting to a draw in the 76th minute by Gil N. after a pass from Santiago Trellez. The game was soon looking like it was going to end in a draw but Once Caldas proved their tenacity and in the last minute Cuesta Santos J. scored in the 90+4’ making the final score 2-1 in the favor of the home side. In total, Deportivo Pasto had 55% possession and made 12 attempts at goal, while Once Caldas had 7; however effectiveness in front of goal was much poorer: Deportivo Pasto had only 3 attempts on target. The win gave Once Caldas three valuable points in a match which was evenly contested till the end of the match. With this result, the Tolima team is in 3rd place in the table with 29 points. In the last 5 league games, the team has recorded 3 wins and 2 losses, with a record of 19 goals scored and 11 goals conceded.

In the last 5 games between these 2 teams, Tolima has won 2, Once Caldas has won 1, and they drew another 2. Goals were scored in all of those 5 games, with both teams scoring in 4 of those matches.

It’s hard to predict a winner in this match, still goals are to be expected from both teams.