Barcelona - Deportivo Quito

Ecuador Serie A, Segunda Etapa

Barcelona comes after quite a hard match in Venezuela, and with the players' fitness in mind, they will take a very careful approach to this game. This means that we will see a lot of rotations tonight, with many regulars being rested. And if what we saw in the training sessions can be trusted, only defender Erazo will play a part in today's game. Besides him, we will see 3 more players that are usually regulars: defender Perlaza (14/1), midfielders Caicedo (16/4) and Diaz (21/1). Other than them, Barcelona will use fringe players, that rarely get to see some action, and none of those players started more than 10 matches this year. This obviously greatly increases Deportivo's chances to take something out of this game, despite their overall poor season so far. However, they should be getting some confidence back, as they did manage a 0-0 draw against LDU Quito, on Wednesday. They have also not lost this season against Barcelona, snatching a point in another 0-0 draw, back in April, when Barcelona was at full strength, so I don't see why they couldn't do it today as well. GL!

Deportivo (+0.75 AH) @ 1.65, 4/10

Result: 1-0, HALF-LOST

Aurora - Cerro Largo

Copa Sudamericana 2012

Odds dropped a lot for this bet, but it's still worth taking, as I can't see anything past a home win here. Cerro Largo had solid performances in the Uruguayan league, and that's why they surprisingly took a Sudamericana spot, but those performances should be long gone by now. They have lost a lot of important players, pretty much the core of the team, as 5 key players have left the team. Their replacements are still a big unknown, but I'm confident they won't live up to the expectations, and they still need a lot of time to blend in. Another huge factor here is the altitude, as Aurora plays at over 2700 meters above the sea level. None of the players from Cerro Largo's team has ever played at high altitude, so they don't have first hand experience of it's effects. And this could have a huge impact on the game, especially since Cerro Largo will only arrive at the stadium a few hours before kick-off. Aurora is usually strong at home even against teams that know how to handle the altitude, so I can't really see them not winning this game. GL!

Aurora (-0.75 AH) @ 1.92, 5/10

Result: 2-1, HALF-WON

Guarani - Oriente Petrolero

Copa Sudamericana 2012

Had a hard time choosing between the handicap or the over, but finally I decided on the first one, so let's hope it won't come back to haunt me. Guarani returns to the international stage, and have high hopes this year. And especially for this reason, they have tried to build a solid team, capable of playing on both fronts. And so far, I'd say they succeeded in that, as we can see some important names in their squad: goalkeeper Aurrecochea, midfielders Orteman (ex-Olimpia) and Blaz Cace 2.07res, plus the forwards Dante Lopez and Carlos Hidalgo. The stadium should also be packed, as this will be the first time Guarani will play an international match on their home stadium, so expect a great atmosphere that should push them from behind. Oriente Petrolero is not such a bad team, but they are having some internal problems, with the players demanding their wages, going on strike, boycotting training sessions, and also postponing an entire round. Add to this the fact that they are poor travelers, and we should be seeing a clear home win tonight. GL!

Guarani (-1 AH) @ 2.07, 4/10

Result: 0-1, LOST

Independiente - El Nacional

Ecuador Serie A, Segunda Etapa

Last time we went against Independiente, and we were right... now let's see if they can deliver another win, but this time with a bet on them. Nothing changes for them in regards to their last match, as they will still be without those 3 players (mentioned them last week: gk Azcona, df Ramirez and fw Solis). But even without them, they still played a pretty solid match against Cuenca. And I expect more from them today, as they are playing at home, against a weaker opponent. At home they are still a force to be reckoned with, and El Nacional must be at their best to take something out of this game. The visitors also have an important absence, as defender Ricardo Lopez (16/0) is suspended. They are a team can surprise, and as evidence we have their victory at Barcelona from last month, but Independiente should also have a moral advantage, as they've beaten El Nacional twice this year, so let's hope they add another win under their belt. GL!

Independiente (-0.5 AH) @ 1.99, 3/10

Result: 1-1, LOST

Liverpool - Universitario

Copa Sudamericana 2012

Normally, the quality gap should be quite high, as the Uruguayan football is at least a class better than the Bolivian one, and for this match we also have a few factors that might make things easier. Liverpool lost some very important players: goalkeeper Juan Castillo (15/0), Pablo Pereira (24/4), midfielder Hernan Figueredo (17/4) and striker Vera (15/13). They have signed some replacements for these players, but they will have a lot of work to do in order to blend into the team. Still, there are a lot of the older players still available, so the coach should have solid ground to start his work once again, especially since he stated that his objective is to build a new team. But even with all this problems, they should have enough quality to blast past a troubled Bolivian side. Compared to last year's team, Universitario is barely recognizable. Only two players from last season are still with the team, as the rest of the players will make their debut with the team tonight. They did have some matches to try and build a solid team, but the results weren't good at all: 1-1-1 in Copa Cine Center del Sur. They are a big unknown at the moment, and they have a lot of catching up to do if they want to get back to their previous performances, so Liverpool should have a big advantage here. GL!

Liverpool (-1.5 AH) @ 1.98, 4/10

Result: 3-0, WON