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El Nacional were 4th in Primera Etapa and qualified for Liguilla Final, while Barcelona were 5th and will have to do that in this stage of the competition.

Barcelona's home record was 7-3-1, while El Nacional only had 1-5-5 record away from home in Primera Etapa. Home advantage is very important when teams from Guayaquil and Quito play against each other. Record between these two teams in Guayaquil since 2000 is 10-11-4.

No major signings for these two teams, Barcelona only changed Argentinian goalkeepers and lost central defender Iván Hurtado, while El Nacional didn't have any transfer. In this game, coach of visitors will give chance to many players who are not regulars. Because of that, it is worth betting on hosts at these odds.

Macará had a poor start of the year, but with arrival of new Paraguayan coach Mario Jacquet, their performances and results improved a lot. Macará won only 1 out of opening 11 games, but in final 11 games of Primera Etapa, their record was 7-2-2. At home, they have 4 wins in a row and 4-2-0 in last 6 games.
Macará strengthened their squad with 5 players, Mario Jacquet is satisfied with new signings and said that they will even fight for the title, though that is not very realistic.

On the other hand, Deportivo Cuenca who finished 3rd in Primera Etapa and secured Liguilla Final, didn't sign new players until now, only lost two Argentinian strikers Mauricio Ferradas and Javier Toledo. Their away record was 3-4-4.

This year, Macará already defeated Cuenca 2-1 at home (drew 1-1 away from home) and should have easier task in this game.

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Two teams in good form - Aurora lost only 1 out of last 8 games (5-2-1 record) and they are great at home with 7-3-1 record.
Bolívar lost 1 out of last 7 games (4-2-1 record). They have more quality, but this game is much more important for hosts. Aurora are down in 10th position in the relegation standings -despite good results lately- and their advantage over 11th position is only 3 points, so, every game is important for them, especially at home.

Bolívar already think about Copa Sudamericana and their coach and 16 first team players went to Argentina to play two friendly games against stronger rivals than they are playing against in local league - Cerro Porteño and Argentinos Juniors. Many youngsters will play in this game for them, not many of them had chance to play for first team. Central defenders Ronald Arana and Carlos Tordoya will play after long breaks. Carlos Tordoya and midfielder Ariel Juárez will join first team in Argentina after this game.

Aurora have poor record against Bolívar even at home (2-1-7 in last 5 years), but this is fantastic chance for them to end that run.

Sporting Cristal fight for 2nd position (2 points in front of Cienciano), while Alianza Lima fight for top 7 position (currently 9th) which would give them chance to win national title.

Cristal's form is in downtrend, they have 1-1-2 record in last 4 games and that win was in their last game - 3-1 against Alianza Atlético at home, but it was 0-0 until visitors were playing with 11 men and hosts scored two late goals to win.
Alianza improved a lot with new coach Richard Páez, 2 wins, draw against champions Universitario and finally defeat against Cienciano at high altitude of Cusco 2-3, but they were 2-0 up until 65th minute and conceded two late goals to lose. That was not a surprise as team from Cusco is practically invincible at home. It is surprise that Alianza were not thrashed actually as many players were partying until 4 in the night only 2 days before that game. Coach is furious because of that, but all players are still in the team.

Advantage for Cristal is that they didn't have to play during the weekend, but form and motivation are on hosts' side and it is worth betting on them at these odds IMO...

Superliga 2008

Reigning Mexican champions Santos lost opening game to New England Revolution 0-1. They didn't lose any important players from last season (although their key player Daniel Emmanuel Ludueña is out injured), but were far from their usual level in Boston. However, Santos were playing with 10 men for more than 50 minutes and Revolution are the best MLS team at the moment. Mexican team should have easier task in this game, they are in must win situation now and I expect improved performance from them. Midfielder Juan Pablo Rodríguez is out after red card in opener, but they have good replacements and their striker Christian Benítez should start in this game after playing only 20 minutes against Revolution.

Chivas USA lost their opening game as well, despite early lead against Pachuca, 1-2. They even missed penalty before scoring goal. It was Claudio Suárez who is 40 years old now, but still plays in MLS. Chivas' record in MLS is 6-4-6, while Revolution are 10-3-4 at the moment. They are in must win situation as well, but Santos have much more quality and should win this game if they show some of their full potential.

At the moment, Mexican teams won 4 out of 6 Superliga 2008 games although they are in preseason and Americans are in middle of their season (and games are played in USA). Great odds on Santos here...

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Atlético Minero are poor away from home, but high altitude of Huancayo gives them huge advantage at home, where they have 4-6-1 record, lost to champions Universitario only and finally ended poor run of form by winning against Sporting Cristal 3-1 in their previous home game. They are last in Apertura and have to win as many home games as possible if they want to avoid relegation after Clausura.

José Gálvez are doing good job, they are 7th in the standings and lost only one out of last 6 games. Away from home though, their record is only 1-5-5. They will use this opportunity to give chance to 3 Sub 20 players.

Atlético Minero have big home advantage and should be more motivated to win this game, I usually avoid betting on them as their overall quality is really modest, even for this league, but will trust them this time.

Universitario secured title last week and will play without most of their regular players in this game.
Wilstermann are only 11th in the standings with 2 rounds to go and want to improve their position by winning remaining home games. Their record in Cochabamba is not bad - 5-2-3. They thrashed Real Potosi 4-1 there last week and I think they will manage to get another win against unmotivated and weakened visitors.

Liga de Quito won 4-2 in the 1st game in Ecuador and have good result in front of return leg as away goals are not important in the final. LDU played great first half, scored 4 goals, but Fluminense managed to close deficit to 2 goals in the second half.
Home advantage is very important factor here, but LDU showed that they know to defend well and to use every chance for counterattacks away from home - 1-1 at América, 1-1 at San Lorenzo, only lost to Estudiantes 1-2. Fluminense were lucky against Boca Juniors, in 1st and 2nd leg, too.
Both teams with full squads, I think Brazilians will have big problems to break Ecuadorians. Line is way too big here...

2,05 at Pinnacle! Oddsoddsodds.com don't have Pinnacle's odds currently...

4,50 at Sportingbet!

Clásico 112 of Cochabamba... Wilstermann have 18 pts, while Aurora have 21 pts. At home stadium, Wilstermann have 4-2-2 record, while Aurora have 5-3-1 record.

Aurora improved a lot lately, they are in very good form (3-2-0 in last 5 games, played great game agaist Oriente Petrolero on Thursday, led 4-0 before conceding two late goals) and are favourites to win this game IMO...
Of course, odds are once again set wrongly as teams play on same stadium and no home advantage here.
Aurora have bad record against Wilstermann lately, 0-4-3 in last 7 games (last win in 2006), but this is good chance for them to end that run, as Wilstermann's form is not that good, even at home.

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1,80 at Sportingbet!

Blooming are 5th in the standings and have chance to reach 2nd position, but have only one home game remaining (out of 4). Away from home, they are poor, with 0-3-5 record.
Real Potosí have nothing to play for, but will certainly give everything to win their last home game of the tournament. With new coach, Potosí drew 0-0 against Bolívar at home and Guabirá away from home, didn't play bad, but missed many chances.
Potosí have 3 regular players out, while Blooming will miss 2 players, one of them is their most creative player Joselito Vaca.

Home advantage is very important here, Potosí won 17 out of 19 home games against Blooming, with only 2 draws. Hosts will dominate the game, hope they will improve their finishing...