Fluminense vs Nacional De Football Predictions

Wednesday’s Copa Sudamericana quarter final, first leg action sees Brazilians Fluminense doing battle with Uruguayans Nacional. The hosts will be looking to open up an advantage to take with them to a tricky looking second leg.

Currently 9th in the domestic table with a slight chance of booking a Copa Libertadores place, as well as being at such an advanced stage of the Sudamericana, it’s been a very good year for Fluminense so far. The side don’t possess the same resources as Brazil’s big hitters and have a fairly small playing squad, but have managed to punch above their weight once again and can be pleased with the work they’ve put in.

Nonetheless, the hosts won’t be standing by and admiring what they’ve achieved so far and Wednesday’s match is a huge one for them as they look to plant one foot into the semi-finals. Having seen off Nacional Potosi, Defensor Sporting and Deportivo Cuenca to reach this point, it’s been a good run for Flu thus far and having won 4 of their last 5 home games, including a weekend victory over Atletico Mineiro, confidence is very high coming into the clash.

Meanwhile, having won the opening and intermediate phases of the Uruguayan top flight, it’s also been an excellent year for Nacional but the side have been struggling for consistency in recent weeks and that has them 4 points behind leaders, and arch rivals, Penarol on the closing phase table.

Indeed, Nacional have not won either of their last 2 outings and just 2 of their last 6 overall, leaving confidence slightly dented in visiting ranks. Arriving tired off the back of a weekend derby draw with Penarol, the visitors look like facing a difficult task in Rio and having won just 1 of their last 5 away games, losing 3 times in the process, the visitors can hardly be considered a real force on their travels.

Ultimately, this is a tie that will almost certainly be settled by whoever best uses their home advantage and both teams will fancy their chances in front of their own fans. Man for man, there doesn’t look to be a great deal between the two but it’s Fluminense who look better placed to secure a win on Wednesday.

As such, we’re more than happy to back a home win and feel it’s a great way to play. Fluminense are an extremely powerful force in front of their own fans and in addition to winning 4 of their last 5 home games, they haven’t conceded a single goal in 7 of their last 8. Those statistics, coupled with Nacional’s less than convincing away form only leads to one conclusion and we think the Brazilians will edge ahead via a 1-0 margin of victory.