Copa Libertadores: Flamengo vs. Defensa y Justicia Betting Preview, Odds, Prediction

So it’s Flamengo and Defensa y Justicia in the derby of Wednesday’s Copa Libertadores matches. The Brazilians carry a 1-0 lead from the first game and expect to have an easy passage to the next stage, but be sure that the guests from Argentina have other plans. Teams from this country are very inspired when playing at the famous Maracana and have an enormous motive to hurt the opponents. Especially following the recent triumph of their national team in the Copa America finals over Selecao.

Preview

Flamengo (-260) is a massive favorite here, not only because they play at home and have a lead from the previous contest, but because football in Brazil didn’t have a pause like in Argentina.

On top of that, the hosts are without a defeat in the previous three games, winning in each one. The series started against Chapecoense, 2-1 at home, then they beat Defensa on the road, 1-0, and finally smashed Bahia also away from home, packing five goals in the rival’s net.

Flamengo is without a defeat in Copa Libertadores, advancing from the group stage with three triumphs and three draws, with a total goal difference of 14-9, which is pretty efficient, having in mind that usually, we don’t see too many goals in this competition.

Defensa y Justicia (+600) missed a chance at home to get a much better position before the rematch because they seemed better than the Brazilians. It was their first contest since late May, and the game against Independiente del Valle in Copa Libertadores, and we have to say that Sebastian Beccacece’s boys looked a bit rusty, especially in the final third of the field.

But even before that pause, Defensa lost its grip and didn’t look very well on the pitch. The Argentinians managed to secure the knockout stage in the last round beating Palmeiras on the road, 3-4, in a wild match that saw them scoring in the fourth minute of the injury time and surviving a significant pressure in the second half.

Defensa played one more game following the match against Flamengo in the domestic championship, losing to CA Huracan on the road, 2-1.

Latest News

Captain Diego is back following an injury, and he already played against Bahia. Meanwhile, Renato Gaucho can’t count on his goalkeeper Cesar who has an ACL injury.

On the other side, we don’t have any big news about Defensa’s players apart from the one that Juan Gabriel Rodriguez stands as doubtful.

Head to Head Games

The first match saw Flamengo scoring an early goal and keeping the result after that. Michael netted in the 21st minute, and following his score, the Brazilians defended throughout the entire time. Still, the hosts didn’t have the power to crack the rival’s defense, and the result stayed like that.

Prediction

We are more than confident in Flamengo’s victory and that the hosts will do that routinely. The odds on their win with -1.5 goals handicap are +110, which is superb because the risk here is very small. The guests are coming to town without too many matches played, which is a massive handicap in cases like this one.

Pick: Flamengo -1.5