Corinthians vs Independiente Predictions

Thursday’s Copa Sudamericana semi final, first leg clash sees Brazilians Corinthians doing battle with Ecuadorians Independiente del Valle. The hosts will be looking to establish a lead to take with them into the second leg.

Whilst Corinthians will be disappointed to have lost their 14 match unbeaten streak in a 1-0 defeat to Fluminense over the weekend, attention has been on Thursday’s game for quite some time and the side come into it with confidence high. Having seen off Argentine champions Racing Club, Deportivo Lara, Wanderers and Fluminense, Timao’s road to this point of the competition hasn’t been an easy one but they’ll now be looking to go on and claim the trophy.

Typically very powerful as hosts, Corinthians will be assured of their ability to get the job done this Thursday and edging ahead in the tie is very clearly the aim. Unbeaten in 11 home matches, of which they’ve won 7, Fabio Carille’s troops are performing in a very consistent manner on their own patch and that has them looking overwhelming favourites to win the match.

Meanwhile, far from one of the continent’s big hitters, Independiente del Valle are defying the odds to make waves on the continental scene once again. The Ecuadorians managed to reach the final of the Copa Libertadores back in 2016 and are now itching to reach another continental final, having seen off Union de Santa Fe, Universidad Catolica, Caracas and Independiente to reach this point.

Nonetheless, the visitors will know they face a huge task in defeating such a powerhouse over two legs and confidence cannot be too high coming into this away leg. Indeed, Independiente del Valle tend to do most of their good work on home soil and haven’t won any of their last 5 Copa Sudamericana ties on the road, leaving their prospects looking bleak in Sao Paulo.

Ultimately, this is a match and tie Corinthians really should be winning. They have far greater resources than Independiente del Valle and on paper, they appear a far stronger side in terms of quality. It’d be quite something if the visitors were to reach the final and the hosts will want to avoid what would be an embarrassing defeat.

All things considered, backing Corinthians to win to nil looks the best way to play in this one as far as the betting is concerned and is exactly where our money is going. They don’t tend to hammer teams but are defensively solid and having kept a clean sheet in 4 of their last 5 home games and their last 3 Sudamericana home ties, we believe a 1-0 margin of home victory could well be on the cards.