Estudiantes Merida vs Racing Club Predictions

• Estudiantes de Merida have won just 2 of their last 8 games.
• Estudiantes de Merida have conceded an average of 1.36 goals a game over their last 11 matches.
• Racing Club have lost just 1 of their last 20 competitive matches, winning 9 times in the process.

Estudiantes de Merida looking to cause a shock

It’s a big night for Estudiantes de Merida as they compete in the Copa Libertadores for the first time since 1999. The side did play in the Copa Sudamericana last year, crashing out at the first stage to Argentinos Juniors but have now returned to the biggest of stages courtesy of finishing runners-up in last season’s domestic campaign.

Nonetheless, drawn against Racing, Nacional and Alianza Lima, putting any points on the board is going to be a tough ask for Estudiantes and they are clear favourites to finish bottom of the group. On paper, they don’t have the quality needed to stand up to said opponents and having won just 2 of their last 8 games, they aren’t in the best of shape at the moment.

Racing looking to start with a win

Meanwhile, Argentine champions will be looking to kick off their continental campaign with a win in Venezuela. La Academia missed out on Libertadores football in 2019 but now back in the big time, they have all the quality needed to put together a strong run in the competition.

Currently level on points with 3rd in the Superliga Argentina, Racing are clearly a force and are fancied by most to win the group. They’ve lost just 1 of their last 20 competitive games, winning 9 times in the process and that has them coming into Thursday’s game with plenty of momentum behind them.

Racing have to be fancied

Ultimately, there is only one favourite to win this fixture and that’s Racing Club. They have quality and resources that Estudiantes can only dream about and if they hit anywhere near their maximum, they’ll win the game without any issues.

All things considered, backing an away win looks by the far the best way to play as far as the betting is concerned and is something we’re more than happy to do. Estudiantes will look to keep things tight but Racing should have enough quality to claim all 3 points and we fancy them to take home a 1-0 margin of victory.