It's game one of two in the Copa Libertadores as Vélez Sarsfield host River Plate. This is a Round of 16 fixture played over two legs and nothing will be decided tonight.
This is a match between teams from the same area, a local derby. The community is buzzing.
It's no vacation for neither Vélez Sarsfield nor River Plate as both were in action only a few days ago. Expect some tired legs on the pitch and/or possibly some changes to the lineups.
Vélez Sarsfield form and stats
Vélez Sarsfield was eliminated in the 8th finals last season in the Copa Libertadores. Barcelona was too strong.The Sarsfield manager Reobasco and his side return home after a 1-1 draw away versus Defensa y Justicia. The hometeam coach Reobasco made a successful contribution in the game against Defensa y Justicia, bringing on Garayalde who scored the equalizer in the 1-1 draw. Midfielder Perrone was the best player on the team with a rating of 7.13 (out of ten) in that game. Perrone dribled past the opponent 1 of 1 times and had 57 successful passes (of 67 total).
Previous to that game, a Superliga home match hosting Rosario Central in a game that was won 2-0.Another home game is coming up fairly shortly for the hosts, as Atletico Tucuman are coming to town in three days.
Vélez Sarsfield have spent many days and weeks preparing for this match, with countless hours on the training pitches and one practice match played. These training games have ended with 0 wins, 1 draw and 0 defeats. Some might be interested in the goal production stats for these matches; Vélez Sarsfield scored 0 goals and let in 0 goals during these one game.
River Plate form and stats
River's mission in Copa Libertadores last season failed in the quarter-finals against Atletico Mineiro.River Plate won their last game, 2-1 versus Lanús played at home. Midfielder Paradela was the best performer of that match, with a rating of 8.52. Paradela scored one goal, served one assist and hit three key passes.
Preceding that game was the away Superliga victory against Union Santa Fe with the score of 5-1.The schedule is very tough for River now as they have to travel again shortly after this match. A Superliga game at Huracan is waiting in only four days.
It's a day of discovery for River Plate as they finally learn what impact all the hours of pre-season training, along with the changes in personnel, have had on their performance in an official game. It's never easy knowing what to expect based on friendly games, of which River Plate have played two with the results W1-D1-L0 (win-draw-lost). In these games River Plate has scored 3 goals and conceded 0 times.
Head 2 Head
Data for the last seven meetings involving these two teams are: two wins for Sarsfield, one draw and four wins for River Plate. Over 2,5 goals: three times; under 2,5 goals: four games. The games between these sides have had a tendency to be rough and physical, having seen 5 red cards from the last seven encounters.Top Goalscorers
  J. Álvarez 10 goals |   L. Janson 8 goals |  E. Fernández 8 goals |
Vélez Sarsfield missing players
River Plate missing players
| Vélez Sarsfield | River Plate | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 13 | Played | P | 12 | 25 | ||
| 8 | 6 | Won | W | 8 | 16 | ||
| 10 | 4 | Drew | D | 2 | 5 | ||
| 7 | 3 | Lost | L | 2 | 4 | ||
| 33 | 23 | Scored | S | 23 | 58 | ||
| 27 | 11 | Conceded | C | 7 | 18 | ||
| 84% | 85% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 92% | 92% | ||
| 72% | 69% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 58% | 72% | ||
| 40% | 54% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 42% | 56% | ||
| 28% | 38% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 17% | 32% | ||
| 16% | 15% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 17% | 20% | ||
| 52% | 46% | BTTS | BTTS | 42% | 48% | ||
| 32% | 46% | Clean Sheets | C S | 42% | 40% | ||
| 32% | 23% | Failed to Score | F T | 25% | 20% | ||
| 5.2 | 5.5 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 4.9 | 6 | ||
| 4.3 | 4.5 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 3.9 | 3.3 | ||
| 2 | 1.6 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 2.1 | 1.6 | ||
| 4 | 3 | Red cards | R C | 0 | 0 | ||
| 12.4 | 13 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 13.3 | 15.2 | ||
| 4.7 | 4.8 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 5.4 | 6.7 | ||
| 28% | 37% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 35% | 35% | ||
| 9.8 | 9.1 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 7.8 | 7.4 | ||
| 3.8 | 3.2 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 2.9 | 2.8 | ||
