Caracas vs FBC Melgar Predictions

Wednesday’s Copa Libertadores final qualification round, second leg clash sees Venezuelans Caracas going up against Peruvians Melgar. The visitors will be looking to see through the 2-0 advantage they opened up in the first leg.

Whilst Caracas rode their luck to cause an upset and defeat Ecuadorians Delfin in the last round of qualification, lightning certainly doesn’t look like striking twice, after they were well beaten in the first leg of this tie and appear to have very little chance of overturning the 2-0 defeat they suffered.

Indeed, now without a win in 6 matches, the Venezuelans aren’t in good form and confidence is very low coming into Wednesday’s game. The side weren’t expected to make any waves in the Libertadores this season and whilst they’ve defied expectations by even reaching this point, just 1 win from their last 9 games in the competition has a comeback looking simply unimaginable..

Meanwhile, Melgar put in a dominant showing with the help of high altitude in the first leg and now have one foot in the group stage. The Peruvians weren’t expected to make it that far into the competition and it’ll rank as a great achievement if they see the job through on Wednesday, having already eliminated powerhouse Universidad de Chile against all odds with a 1-0 aggregate victory.

Yet to concede a goal in the Libertadores this year, Melgar are showing exactly the kind of defensive quality they’ll be desperate to maintain on Wednesday, as not allowing the hosts a glimmer of hope is of paramount importance. Having also lost just 1 of their last 8 matches overall, confidence is running high in visiting ranks and the side travel to Venezuela in good spirits, assured of their ability to get over the group stage line.

Ultimately, we view this tie as over already and just cannot envisage any way in which Caracas can come back. They were well beaten in the first leg, are in poor form and have shown nothing to suggest they can get the better of a Melgar team that’s developing into quite a well-oiled unit.

Best value here can be found in backing the visitors on the double chance line. They’re unlikely to play in a highly expansive manner but more than have the ability to avoid defeat and we can envisage them managing their lead with good efficiency in a 0-0 draw on the night.