Nacional Asuncion vs Botafogo Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Wednesday’s Copa Sudamericana second round, first leg action sees Paraguayans Nacional Asunción doing battle with Brazilians Botafogo. The hosts will be looking to open up an advantage on home soil ahead of a tricky return fixture.

Nacional have not been playing fantastically well their last few outings, failing to win any of their last 5 games, but 3 of said fixtures have at least ended in draws. There’s clearly ability in La Academia ranks, considering they finished the opening phase of the Paraguayan top flight in 4th, but they do seem to have lost their way somewhat.

Nonetheless, a continental tie against a relatively large opponent should raise motivation levels in home ranks and those that take to the field can be quietly confident in securing some kind of result, having lost just twice in front of the home crowd in 14 matches so far this year. Having scraped past Venezuelans Mineros de Guayana on penalties to reach this point, Nacional will be desperate to secure further continental progression, with matching last season’s run to the quarter-final stage of competition the aim.

Luckily for the hosts, visiting Botafogo arrive in just as bad a condition, having lost 3 of their last 4 matches. That poor run of form coincides with the arrival of boss Marcos Paquetá and he’s coming under pressure from the fans already, given the slow way in which he’s started life in the Fogo’ dugout.

The manner of the three defeats has been what is most concerning, losing 2-0 to both Flamengo and Corinthians as well as being crushed 3-0 by Internacional over the weekend. Confidence is not running high in the Botafogo camp and that’s something only compounded by the fact they’ve lost 6 of their last 8 away games, including the last 3.

Ultimately, neither side is flying at this current moment in time but with the home crowd behind them, we see good value in backing Nacional on the Draw No Bet line at a more than fair price.

Whilst they’re not pulling up any trees, they have at least avoided defeat in their last two outings and possess a fairly strong home record overall. Compare that to a Botafogo outfit that is losing by big margins regularly and has shown no resolve whatsoever on the road over the last couple of months and it becomes clear that while Nacional may not be favourites to advance from the tie overall, they can certainly pick up something useful in this 90 minutes alone, with a 1-0 margin of home victory on the cards.