CA River Plate vs FBC Melgar Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Argentine giants River Plate got their quest for yet another continental title off to a fantastic start in the opening round of fixtures, picking up an excellent 3-1 away win at a tricky opponent in the shape of Independiente Medellin. Meanwhile, FBC Melgar also got off to a perfect start, upsetting Ecuadorian side Emelec with a hard fought 1-0 win on home soil, enough to see them already improve on last year’s shocking performance of 6 group games and 6 defeats.

They face a massive challenge here against a River Plate side in peak form. Fans had been slightly frustrated, but a run of five straight wins have quelled tensions. More pleasing for boss Marcelo Gallardo has been the manner of said wins, with performance very strong and a front three of Driussi, Alario and Martinez looking potent. River currently lie 5th in the Argentine Primera, two points shy of the Libertadores qualification spots. In all honesty, that’s not a particularly great position for a club of their stature, but fans would love nothing more than for their side to lift the Libertadores in a year in which arch enemy Boca are not participating in any continental competition.

Melgar come into the game full of confidence. Domestic form has been very strong, as the side look to go one better than last season’s runners up medal. 19 points from 9 games has them sitting top of the pile, and they are still yet to lose a game. There’s a good feeling around the club, but this game with River will certainly be a measure of how much they’ve really improved since last year.

River have been priced as comfortable favourites and that seems fair.  There is a big difference in quality between Argentine and Peruvian football, and even on current form Melgar are unlikely to cause an upset. They will perhaps pose more of a test than the odds would suggest however, and backing the hosts on the full time market does not seem like the best way to play this one with the odds available.

Statistically, and having watched a lot of River Plate in recent weeks, we’ve noticed that there is quite a vast difference between the play style of the side in the first half than that of the second. River tend to start games slowly on home soil, looking to dictate the tempo of the game and control the ball.  This rarely sees them establish an early lead, as they slowly probe for an opening goal.  In the second half, they come out far more aggressively moving the ball with pace and purpose and pressing high up the pitch.

River have not scored a goal in the first half in the last 3 home games, but they have found the net on multiple occasions in the second half of two of those games. Their last 4 homes wins have all seen them score more in the second half than first, and we are backing them to do that again in a 2-0 win.