Aron Wright - April 29, 2018
Gremio vs Cerro Porteno
Copa Libertadores Group Stage.
Date: Tuesday, 1st May 2018
Kick-off at 23:15 UK/ 00:15 CET Wednesday.
Venue: Arena do Gremio Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Cerro Porteno are leading the group A of the 2018 Copa Libertadores by 2 points against Gremio. The Brazilians will be keen to reclaim the spot making use of the home advantage and with a win when these two teams meet on Tuesday evening.
Gremio’s lone home match in the competition saw a dominant 4-0 victory over the Venezuelan outfit Monagas. But they had little luck in away trips so far, as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Defensor Sporting on matchday 1 before the goal-less stalemate at their Tuesday’s visitors Cerro Porteno.
On the other hand, the Paraguayan club are performing above expectations up to this point. The draw against Gremio in a huge point, while away win at Monagas 2-0 and home win against Defensor set the platform for knockout qualification going into the second leg of fixtures.
As we mentioned earlier, the teams are separated by 2 points at kick-off. A draw will do well to Porteno, but Gremio must win here since Defensor Sporting at third are at a 1 point gap.
Overall three meetings between the two teams at Copa Libertadores. Before the goal-less stalemate this season, Gremio won back to back games by 1-0 margins in 2007. So we are yet to see a match with more than 2 goals in their head-to-head clashes.
Historic data throw light to the fact that Gremio are a consistent home side in the competition. They won 7 of the last 8 here and lost just 2 of their last 19.
Cerro Porteno did start their campaign with an away win at Monagas, but this is their first road win in the competition since 2011. They had lost in 10 of the previous 15 outings.
Therefore, Gremio can be backed with confidence to win this fixture in style.
FT – Gremio to win @ 1.41 odd is a banker.
Brave punters can give a shot at home win with Asian handicap -1.5 for 2.15 odds.