O'Higgins vs Fuerza Amarilla SC Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

O’Higgins will be hoping for a deeper run into the competition than their abrupt first round exit last year. They drew 0-0 twice with Uruguayan side Montevideo Wanderers before crashing out on penalties. La Celeste will consider themselves unfortunate to be in the Sudamericana, rather than it’s bigger brother, the Libertadores. A strong performance in last year’s Apertura phase saw them finish in 4th place before they lost on penalties to third placed Union Espanola, in a play off match deciding who would go to what competition.

The Rancagua based side have looked strong in the opening three games of the domestic season. Lying in 6th place, O’Higgins have notched two comfortable home wins over Union Espanola and Cobresal. They did lose 2-1 at Colo Colo, but it was still a respectable scoreline against one of the nation’s powerhouse sides.  The most recent of the two wins came at the weekend against Cobresal. A clinical performance saw them run out 4-1 winners in what will have been a confidence boost prior to this one.

Formed in 1998, Fuerza Amarilla will see the game as a measure of how far they have come. They only won promotion to the Ecuadorian top flight in 2015, but secured survival along with a continental appearance last year in their debut campaign. El Tractor Amarillo actually only finished 6 points clear of relegated Aucas, but their 8th place finish out of 12 teams was enough to take up the last Sudamericana spot.

Fuerza have made a solid, if unspectacular start to the new domestic campaign. They’ve won once, drawn twice, and lost once. They were in action last Friday, drawing 1-1 at home to newly promoted Clan Juvenil, after playing the last half an hour with 10 men.

O’Higgins are priced as heavy favourites with the bookmakers, and rightly so. They have been ruthless on home soil recently, winning the last 6 over the end of last year and start of this.  Within those games they have faced strong opponents such as Colo Colo and Union Espanola, but have still managed to wrack up an average of 2.83 goals a game. On the domestic front, Fuerza are a mediocre side at best. There are some strong sides in Ecuador, but Fuerza are not one of them. It’s hard to see how one of the worse Ecuadorian sides can come to one of the better Chilean outfits and take something.  Last season Fuerza struggled away against stronger opposition, losing 3-1 at Emelec and 5-1 at Barcelona.

It’s going to be a difficult debut for the new boys, O’Higgins boss Cristián Arán has stated that he expects a high intensity start from his team and that “only a win is acceptable”.  We see them getting exactly that, as Fuerza struggle once again with a step up in quality and the hosts continue their strong home form. O’Higgins have the desire and the quality to grab a comfortable win here, and we see them covering the -1 handicap in a comfortable 3-0 win.