Once Caldas vs Deportivo Santani Predictions

Friday’s Copa Sudamericana first round, second leg clash sees Colombians Once Caldas doing battle with Paraguayans Deportivo Santani. The hosts arrive as big favourites to advance to the next round.

After maintaining parity and notching an away goal in the first leg 1-1 draw, the ball is firmly in Once Caldas’ court as far as this tie is concerned. The Colombians came into the tie as marginal favourites but now substantial favourites after doing the hard part on enemy territory, those taking to the pitch will be confident in finishing the job off.

Indeed, Once Caldas are an extremely powerful force in front of their own fans and that leaves their prospects looking bright coming into Friday’s game. All in all, Los Albos have won 11 of their last 16 home games, losing just once in the process and having kept a clean sheet in 3 of their last 5 outings as hosts, they are showing exactly the type of defensive stability that will see them through on Friday if repeated.

Meanwhile, Deportivo Santani arrive kicking themselves that they couldn’t make their home advantage count for something and said draw has played its part in what’s been a terrible start to 2019. Rock bottom of the domestic table and winless in 10 going back to the end of last year, the Paraguayans aren’t playing well at all at the moment and new boss Jara Saguier looks like having his work cut out in order to raise spirits ahead of this trip.

This year’s Sudamericana participation represents Santani’s first ever in continental competition, but it’s fair to say it looks like being a short one if improvement isn’t found immediately. Not only are they not winning, but they’ve lost their last 3 away games, all of which by more than a single goal; a statistic that is a real worry prior to kick off on Friday.

Ultimately, we said this looked a tough one to call prior to the first leg, but it appears far more clear cut now, given the current state of the two and the scoreline from the first leg. On home soil, you’d expect Once Caldas to win fairly comfortably and that’s something reflected in the odds on offer.

Nonetheless, there’s still good value to be found in backing them on the -1 handicap and that’s exactly where our money is going. They rarely slip up on home turf and with Santani having lost comfortably in their last few away games, a 2-0 margin of home victory could well be on the cards.