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Boca Juniors vs Cruzeiro Predictions

  • 00:45
  • Expired
  • La Bombonera
Boca Juniors
Cruzeiro

odds when tipped

odds when tipped

Boca Juniors vs Cruzeiro Predictions

Thursday’s Copa Libertadores quarter final, first leg action sees Argentines Boca Juniors and Brazilians Cruzeiro going head to head. The hosts will be looking to open up an advantage to take with them to the second leg.

Argentine champions two seasons in a row and with one of, if not the, strongest squad on the continent, Boca Juniors came into the year with one main goal; win the Libertadores for the first time since 2007. After stumbling through the group stage, El Xeneize looked at their absolute best in the last 16, blowing away Paraguayans Libertad 6-2 on aggregate.

Whilst this clash with Cruzeiro undoubtedly represents a step up in quality, Boca look ready. The side picked up a 1-0 win over Argentinos in domestic action over the weekend, making it 4 wins on the bounce across all competitions and having also won 5 home matches in a row without conceding a single goal, confidence is clearly very high coming into Thursday’s game.

Meanwhile, Cruzeiro have been fairly impressive in the competition so far and will be looking to continue that theme. Raposa first advanced from a group containing Racing, Vasco and Universidad de Chile prior to navigating a tough last 16 clash with Flamengo to reach this point and out of the title race on the domestic front, the Libertadores is the visitors’ main focus now.

Indeed, boss Mano Menezes fielded a heavily rotated team in the weekend’s 0-0 derby draw with Atletico Mineiro, so those who take to the field at La Bombonera will do so in fresh condition. Nonetheless, having scored just twice in their last 6 games, Cruzeiro are far from firing on all cylinders in an attacking sense, which has to be a big worry ahead of the trip.

Ultimately, Boca Juniors are an extremely powerful outfit no matter the venue but are a truly frightening proposition with the backing of their fans. They look to be hitting their absolute maximum in terms of performance levels lately and with Cruzeiro not the most impressive over the same period, Boca should be able to take the lead in the tie by winning on the night.

Thus, a bet on a home win appeals and that’s exactly where our money is going. You’d back Boca against just about anyone on their own patch and that’s certainly no different here. The hosts have won 6 of their last 9 Copa Libertadores home outings and look likely to build on that sequence with a 1-0 margin of victory.

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