Gremio vs Libertad Asuncion Predictions

Friday’s Copa Libertadores round of 16, first leg action sees Brazilians Gremio doing battle with Paraguayans Libertad in Porto Alegre. It’s expected to be an exciting game as both teams look to make a strong start in the tie.

After winning the Libertadores back in 2017 and reaching the semi-finals last year, it’s fair to say Gremio and their fans are expecting another sustained run in the competition. Tricolor are well on their way to doing that, after progressing from a group containing Rosario Central, Universidad Catolica and Libertad themselves and this is a tie they’ll be expecting to win without issue.

Though they are clear favourites in the tie, Gremio will know they cannot underestimate Libertad, as they did finish behind them in the group and lost to them on home soil. Nonetheless, with 5 wins from their last 6 home games behind them, Renato Gaucho’s troops can be confident in avoiding a repeat of said occurence and will be looking to open up an advantage to take with them into the second leg.

Meanwhile, Libertad were very impressive in the group stage and it’s fair to say they exceeded expectations. It was a tough set of teams for the Paraguayans to face and they qualified with an impressive 14 points, leaving hopes high that they can now compete in the latter stages of the competition.

Beating Gremio over two legs ranks as a tough order for Libertad, but is far from impossible and the team arrive in excellent form. Indeed, the visitors have been simply rampant in recent weeks, winning their last 5 matches, whilst scoring an average of 2.8 goals a game.

Ultimately, although Gremio are clear favourites, especially in this home leg, Libertad won’t be travelling to simply make up the numbers and should play their part in a competitive 90 minutes. On home soil. Gremio should play in a highly aggressive manner but Libertad will give them plenty to think about defensively, given how easy they are finding goals to come by at the moment.

All things considered, backing the Both Teams to Score line looks the best way to play as far as the betting is concerned and is something we’re more than happy to do. Both teams have scored in 4 of Gremio’s last 5 matches, as well as in Libertad’s last 2 Copa Libertadores away games and we think both streaks could well continue in a 2-1 Gremio victory.