Fortaleza vs Estudiantes LP Predictions

• Fortaleza are unbeaten in ten of their last 12 home games.
• Estudiantes failed to score in two of their three Copa Libertadores away games.
• Estudiantes failed to win seven of their last ten away games.

A welcome break from Fortaleza’s domestic woes

The round of 16 in the Copa Libertadores gets underway for Brazillians Fortaleza and Argentinian outfit Estudiantes with the first of two legs taking place at Castelao.

The hosts secured qualification to the knockout phase with a final day victory over Colo-Colo in the group stage (4-3) though that result was never really in doubt after racing into a two-goal lead within half an hour.

A similar result would be welcomed here as the inclusion in continental football seems to have had a negative impact on Fortaleza domestically as they prop up the Brazilian Serie A table with just ten points. However, it is not beyond the realms of possibility for them to take a foothold into the second leg given the disparity between their domestic and continental form.

A long way from home

Estudiantes’ qualification from their Copa Libertadores group was much more straight forward than their hosts (W4, D1, L1), though they have recorded a mixed five-game start to their domestic season.

Perhaps most notably about Estudiantes’ Libertadores form is the fact that they failed to score in two of their three away group games (W1, D1, L1) and have also struggled away from home in general, with just three wins across their last ten away trips.

We predict that this will be a tight and tense affair as two of the lesser fancied sides in this competition will not want to give anything away. As such, we are going for a home win, albeit a slender one which is covered with our 1-0 correct score pick.

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