Aug 22, 2011

Nacional Asuncion - Cerro Porteno

Paraguay Primera Division, Clausura

Nacional comes after winning the Apertura tournament, and despite still keeping a high level of play, I see them as a bit lower than in the first part of the season. And they also have to focus on 2 competitions, as they also play in Copa Sudamericana, where they qualified for the next stage. Therefore, in order to keep his players fit, it is reported that Nacional's coach will make a few rotations for this match. Nothing is certain yet, and we don't know which player will be rested, but I'm not expecting the best line-up available. Cerro Porteno started to show as a different team in the first 2 rounds of Clausura, but then came the 0-1 home defeat against Independiente, and I had to change my mind about them being the main title challengers. Still, I'm going to consider that game as an accident, and hope the players will work twice as hard to make up for the lost points. I have confidence in them tonight, as having looked at the line-up, I see some good names: Caceres, dos Santos and Fabbro in the midfield line, which looks like one of the best midfields in the league. In offense, we'll likely have Benitez and Bareiro, which also looks good (so far in this tournament, all the 5 goals were scored by Bareiro, dos Santos, Fabro or Salcedo - the 4th midfielder). Cerro are traditionally a tough oponent for Nacional, and in the last 10 games played at Defensores del Chaco, Nacional only managed to win 3, and I certainly don't see them winning today, with changes expected in the team, and with tired players following their mid-week effort. GL!

Cerro Porteno (+0.25 AH) @ 1.80, 4/10
Result: 1-1, HALF WON

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