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Steffen Schmidt - August 9, 2023
LDU Quito vs Nublense
CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana
Date: 11 August 2023, Friday
Kick-off at 01:00 UK / 02:00 CET
Venue: Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado (Quito).
Paolo Guerrero’s strike right at the hour mark made all the difference between LDU Quito and Nublense seven days ago in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana R16 tie.
The Ecuadorian outfit confirmed the favorites’ tag on the occasion by dominating the pitch throughout most of the game, forcing numerous saves from the rivaling goalkeeper last week in Chillan.
The fact that Nublense, on the other side, had just a single attempt on target in the 90 minutes of the affair says enough about the difference in quality between these counterparts.
Nublense have already written history, though, by finding the way out of a group stage of any continental competition for the first time ever.
Their head coach Jaime Garcia led them to the runners-up position in the last season’s Chilean Primera Division, claiming the club’s best-ever finish on the occasion.
While the Chileans are by all means still in the tie after a narrow defeat in the first leg, they do have a mountain to climb to pick up a result in Quito where much stronger teams had failed to get lucky in the past.
LDU have a strong pedigree in South America after a Copa Libertadores title in 2008 and Copa Sudamericana trophy in 2009.
We also have to praise LDU’s form going into this tie as the hosts are unbeaten in 14 subsequent matches across competitions.
They’ve kept four clean sheets in the last five outings, including the aforementioned 1-0 win in Chile seven days ago.
Nublense barely had a look at Quito’s goal last week in Chile. Knowing that LDU kept four clean sheets in the last five matches, we have no other option but to take the home win to nil pick at the 2.20 odds here.
You can alternatively back LDU Quito to win by two or more goals difference on Thursday night at the 2.00 odds.
