Barcelona vs Velez Sarsfield: The Ecuadorians will knock another big club out of the cup

Ecuadorian team Barcelona SC host Argentinian side Velez Sarsfield for the second leg of the Copa Libertadores 1/8 finals on Thursday night. The first game between these teams ended with a score of 1-0 in favor of Velez. This result leaves a little chance for Barcelona to reach the quarterfinals.

After the first-leg encounter where Barcelona lost to Velez Sarsfield 0-1, which, incidentally, was a head-to-head game, with the Argentinians scoring early and holding their advantage the entire match, Barcelona played in the Ecuadorian championship against Macara and defeated this team 3-0. Mastriani, Lopez, and Cortez Casierra scored a goal each to give Barcelona a solid dry victory. This victory gave Barcelona a two-point lead over Independiente del Valle, but Emelec was still out of reach. We should recall that, in Ecuador, as in Brazil, in June and July the teams play the National Football Championship in their countries. 

On the other hand, Velez Sarsfield played only two official matches in July. After defeating Barcelona, the team from Buenos Aires faced Racing in the opening round of the championship of Argentina, which ended in a 0-0 draw. On the one hand, Velez scored only one goal in this period, on the other hand, the team from Buenos Aires did not concede, being so far the grassroots team of the season.

The outcome of the match between Barcelona and Velez Sarsfield, in our opinion, is clear. The Ecuadorian team is the favorite of this game, and bookmakers do not expect high performance from these teams. That's right, Barcelona is at their best now, they only lost the first round of the  Ecuadorian championship to Emelec and because of this, they are hungry for victories in the Libertadores Cup. Velez Sarsfield is not a top club even by the standards of Argentina, so we will not be surprised if, in the end, we see the Ecuadorians and not the Argentinians in the quarterfinals of the Libertadores Cup. We offer the following odds for this game: Barcelona victory for 3.04, TO (2.5) for 2.00, Both Teams To Score - Yes for 1.95.