Palestino vs River Plate Predictions

Wednesday’s Copa Libertadores action sees Chileans Palestino doing battle with Argentines River Plate. The visitors will be looking for a win that would put them into the last 16.

Having seen off Colombians Independiente Medellin and Argentines Talleres in the qualification rounds, Palestino have done well to even make it into the group phase but it doesn’t really look like the side will go any further in the competition. After 4 matches, the hosts have 4 points, meaning anything but a win in Wednesday’s game would have them all but eliminated.

On home soil, it can be argued Palestino have a relative chance of claiming victory but they are hardly in the kind of form that suggests they’re about to defeat one of South America’s strongest sdes and the current competition holders. Indeed, they’ve won just 1 of their last 4 games and lost 3 of their last 6 home games, leaving their prospects looking relatively bleak coming into the game.

Meanwhile, after winning the Libertadores last season, River are expected to be among the front runners to lift it once again this year. Nonetheless, for now Los Millonario’s focus can only be on making sure they progress from the group; something they can ensure by claiming victory on Chilean soil.

River didn’t start their Libertadores campaign particularly well, drawing all 3 of their opening matches but a 3-0 win over Alianza Lima now has things back on the right track. Unbeaten in 11 away matches, Marcelo Gallardo’s troops are clearly a real force on the road and come into the game very confident in their ability to get the job done.

Ultimately, whilst Palestino will be desperate to cause an upset, River have far too much experience in the competition to be fazed by the magnitude of the game. Man for man, the Argentines are by far the stronger of the two on paper and they’ll be hoping to translate that into what we see on the pitch.

All things considered, backing an away win looks the best way to play as far as the betting goes and at current prices, is something we’re more than happy to do. River have scored an average of 2.5 goals a game over their last 6 matches and should have too much firepower for a Palestino outfit in less than convincing shape, with a 2-1 margin of away victory looking on the cards.