A trophy cabinet can never have too much silverware and both Fortaleza and Independiente know what's at stake in this second leg of the Copa Sudamericana 1st Round clash.
Both teams should be fairly well rested for this game, as they have had some quiet days to prepare. Hopefully this will translate into lots of action on the pitch.
It's quite the trip for Independiente when visiting Fortaleza as the cities are 4900 kilometers apart.
Fortaleza form and stats
The opportunity of a proper winning streak is there for the hosts, with two straight wins here at Estádio Governador Plácido Aderaldo Castelo.
The fans are hoping that Fortaleza will strike back in this match, putting things right after the 0-2 away loss in the Copa do Nordeste game against Confianca. A strong away win before that one, visiting Imperatriz and winning 2-1.
The hosts are modest favourites in this match, with the bookmakers estimating the chance of a home win at about 50% +- five percent. It's interesting to look at how Fortaleza have performed under similar circumstances, so here are some numbers: When modest favourites like this (we found ten games) they have won four times, drawn four and lost two.
There's a new fixture coming up fairly quickly for Fortaleza, as the Cearense 1 home game vs Barbalha is only three days away.
Independiente form and stats
Independiente was sent out of Copa Sudamericana in the quarter-finals last season.3-3-4 is the win-draw-loss statistic for Independiente in their Superliga matches away.
Independiente failed to get anything from their last game, a Superliga home match vs Gimnasia La Plata that ended with defeat 0-1. Preceding that match was the 1-1 draw at home vs Arsenal de Sarandi.
Independiente were so close to getting something from the game against Gimnasia La Plata, but ended up with egg all over their face after conceding the deciding goal three minutes into overtime.
Independiente are the outsiders in this one, but not by much. Their performance in similar games (being the away team and moderate outsiders) is zero wins, two draws and one defeat. From a total of three matches.
The schedule is very tough for Independiente now as they have to travel again shortly after this match. A Superliga game at Huracan is waiting in only four days.
The attacking power of Independiente when travelling is not overwhelming with 6 goals scored from 10 league matches away. As opposed to that, Independiente have seen the ball go into their own net 10 times on the road.
Head 2 Head
The two sides played each other earlier this season: Independiente - Fortaleza 1-0.Top Goalscorers
  S. Romero 11 goals |  J. Barros da Silva 2 goals |  O. Lourenço Filho 2 goals |
Fortaleza missing players
Independiente missing players
| Fortaleza | Independiente | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 12 | Played | P | 12 | 25 | ||
| 13 | 9 | Won | W | 4 | 9 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Drew | D | 3 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 1 | Lost | L | 5 | 11 | ||
| 39 | 25 | Scored | S | 7 | 26 | ||
| 23 | 8 | Conceded | C | 11 | 27 | ||
| 92% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 83% | 92% | ||
| 72% | 83% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 33% | 52% | ||
| 56% | 67% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 25% | 36% | ||
| 20% | 17% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 8% | 20% | ||
| 8% | 8% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 0% | 12% | ||
| 52% | 50% | BTTS | BTTS | 17% | 32% | ||
| 36% | 50% | Clean Sheets | C S | 42% | 32% | ||
| 20% | 0% | Failed to Score | F T | 58% | 44% | ||
| 4.8 | 5 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 5.6 | 5.6 | ||
| 5.7 | 5 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 5.5 | 5.2 | ||
| 2.4 | 2.5 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 3.1 | 3.3 | ||
| 3 | 1 | Red cards | R C | 5 | 9 | ||
| 248 | 144 | Total Shots | T S | 92 | 245 | ||
| 104 | 61 | Shots on Target | S O | 40 | 110 | ||
| 38% | 41% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 15% | 22% | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | River Plate | 21 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 39 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 10 | 23 | 45 |
| 2 | Boca Juniors | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 30 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 22 | 42 |
| 3 | Argentinos Juniors | 21 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 36 |
| 4 | Lanús | 21 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 28 | 24 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 4 | 35 |
| 5 | Racing Club | 21 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 25 | 21 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 35 |
| 6 | Newell's Old Boys | 21 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 32 | 22 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 34 |
| 7 | Velez Sarsfield | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 33 |
| 8 | Rosario Central | 21 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 27 | 26 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 1 | 33 |
| 9 | Defensa y Justicia | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 23 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 32 |
| 10 | Arsenal de Sarandi | 21 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 32 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 18 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 31 |
| 11 | Talleres Cordoba | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 30 | 27 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 3 | 31 |
| 12 | San Lorenzo | 21 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 25 | 26 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 30 |
| 13 | Estudiantes | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 29 |
| 14 | Atlético Tucumán | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | -2 | 28 |
| 15 | Independiente | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 24 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 26 |
| 16 | Banfield | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 5 | -1 | 25 |
| 17 | Central Cordoba SdE | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 20 | 25 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 15 | -5 | 25 |
| 18 | Union Santa Fe | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 18 | -8 | 24 |
| 19 | Aldosivi | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 18 | -9 | 22 |
| 20 | Gimnasia La Plata | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 22 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 11 | -1 | 20 |
| 21 | Patronato | 21 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 30 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -11 | 20 |
| 22 | Colón | 21 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 17 | 33 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 20 | -16 | 18 |
| 23 | Huracan | 21 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 27 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 16 | -14 | 16 |
| 24 | Godoy Cruz | 20 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 18 | 43 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 22 | -25 | 12 |