The early hours of Wednesday see Estudiantes La Plata and Barcelona clash in the Copa Sudamericana last-32 second leg. The first leg of the time finished in a 2-1 win for the visitors.
Estudiantes La Plate form guideThe Argentinian outfit head into this clash on the back of a five-game winless run, including back-to-back defeats against Barcelona in the first leg and River Plate last time out in the Primera Division.
Estudiantes have also won just one of their previous nine games matches in all competitions. Their recent matches have been low-scoring, with under 2.5 goals scored in six of their last nine games in all competitions.
The team from the Argentinian capital have a mixed recent record in the Copa Sudamericana, as although they have won just two of their last five matches in the competition, the first-leg defeat ended a six-game unbeaten run.
Barcelona form guideThe visitor's recent form has been inconsistent, as the Ecuadorian team has won just two of their previous eight matches in all competitions. The first-leg victory was another high-scoring for Barcelona, as their last seven competitive games have produced over 2.5 goals.
The fact that they conceded at least two goals in five of their previous seven matches has greatly impacted their recent high-scoring games.
Barcelona has a decent recent record in the Copa Sudamericana, as they are unbeaten in five games, having recorded two wins and three victories in the run. Their recent games in the competition have been relatively high-scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored in five of their last eight matches.
The Ecuadorian team have been poor travellers of late in the Copa Sudamericana, as they have failed to win any of their last 12 games on their travels in the competition.
They have a poor recent defensive record away from home in the Copa Sudamericana, conceding at least two goals in six of their previous nine games.
What am I backing?Estudiantes have a decent home record of late in the competition, while Barcelona cannot buy a win on their travels in the Copa Sudamericana. With that in mind, I am backing a narrow home win.
