Universitario de Deportes vs Santa Fe Prediction: Can the Visitors Upset Universitario in Peru?

In the upcoming scheduled fixture of Copa Sudamericana, Matchday 3, Universitario de Deportes will be up against Club Santa Fe at the Estadio Monumental U Marathon in Ate District of Peru. Universitario and Santa Fe both have secured a win and a draw in the last two continental fixtures, standing 1st and 2nd, respectively. This will be the first meeting between the two, making the upcoming contest an important one for the two sides. Continue reading to find out more about the upcoming contest and the likely outcomes. 

Going in the matchup, Universitario is coming off a win against Sport Boys (0-3), in which Alex Valera scored goals in the 52nd, 81st, and 85th minute of play. But unfortunately, Alex was sent off the field due to a red card suspension. With 8 shots on target and a passing accuracy of 79%, Universitario de Deportes did impress the hosts. With 4 wins and a draw in the last five matches played across all competitions, Universitario will be looking comfortable in hosting Santa Fe at home. Against Goias, Universitario managed to make a reasonable comeback in the last couple of minutes before the final whistle, courtesy of William Riveros and Alex Valera. Hence, Universitario will be looking forward to performances from Alex Valera in the upcoming matchup as well.

José Carvallo; Aldo Corzo, William Riveros, Matías Di Benedetto, Andy Polo, Rodrigo Ureña, Horacio Calcaterra, Martín Pérez Guedes, Nelson Cabanillas; Alex Valera and Emanuel Herrera.

With 2 wins, 2 draws, and a defeat in the last five matches played, Independiente Santa Fe is looking quite decent and intact ahead of the upcoming fixture. In the last match against Tolima, Hugo Rodallega, and Jhoan Camilo Torres scored goals. With 57% dominant possession and 8 shots on target, Independiente Santa Fe did manage to capitalize and apply pressure on the opposition. Santa Fe competed its last Sudamericana fixture at home against Gimnasia LP and managed to demonstrate 62% possession; however, the passing accuracy was only 67%. Apart from the home performance, Santa Fe has struggled in away outings, as it got defeated by Rionegro (3-1) and a draw against Deportivo Pereira (2-2). Talking about the overall scoring, Santa Fe has scored 10 and conceded 6. Hence, the scoring average is quite healthy compared to the conceding average. 

Juan Espitia; Fabián Viafara, Kevin Mantilla, David Pisciotti, Dairon Mosquera; Harold Rivera, Iván Rojas, Wilfrido De la Rosa, Christian Marrugo, José Enamorado and Hugo Rodallega.

Moving forward in the fixture, Independiente Santa Fe will be looking to orchestrate a clinical performance in Estadio Monumental U Marathon in Peru. Though the Peruvian side has dominated local fixtures and the opening matchups, the upcoming matchup is likely to have Santa Fe winning. Considering the scoring average of the two teams, the match total is expected to be over 2.5 goals, and both sides to score positively. I am backing Santa Fe to strike early and the match to either end in a draw or the visitors to win by a margin of one goal at least.  

• Double Chance - Draw or Independiente Santa Fe for 1.66
• Both Teams to Score - Yes for 1.86
• Total Over 2.5 for 2.17