Palmeiras vs Boca Juniors Predictions

Thursday’s Copa Libertadores semi final, second leg action sees Brazilians Palmeiras doing battle with Argentines Boca Juniors. It’s the hosts with it all to do after losing the first leg 2-0.

A trip to the Bombonera is always a difficult one and whilst Palmeiras hardly crumbled, with the game a very dull one, the goals aside, they now find themselves in a very difficult position. Nonetheless, if Verdao can better impose their game on the Argentine champions on Thursday, a comeback cannot be ruled out of the equation.

Indeed, the defeat was the first real low point since Luiz Felipe Scolari returned for another stint in the dugout, with performances otherwise outstanding. Under Scolari, Palmeiras have been winning almost every week, seeing them rise from upper mid table in Serie A to the summit and having won 12 of their last 15 home games, they’ll be hoping they can make a miraculous recovery here to advance to the final.

Meanwhile, whilst Boca didn’t play magnificently last week, they got the result they needed and that’s all that really matters at this stage of the competition. Despite having won the domestic title in each of the last two seasons, boss Guillermo Barros Schelotto remains under pressure as fans demand the Libertadores crown and failure to defend the lead in Sao Paulo will likely see him depart, so there’s lots riding on the fixture.

El Xeneize are currently 9th in the Superliga Argentina, a big 8 points behind Racing, so it’s somewhat understandable why pressure is growing on the team and a 2-1 defeat away at Gimnasia over the weekend hardly relieves that, despite changes having been made for it. However, league matches are of little importance right now and the picture is very clear for the Argentines; advance to the final and all is well, lose and the entire season will be considered a disaster by fans and media alike.

Ultimately, as big an ask as it’ll be, we simply cannot write Palmeiras off in their current shape and can see them making a comeback. Boca have not looked very convincing in recent months and in truth, their 2-0 lead flatters them, as they weren’t particularly impressive in last week’s game between the two.

Given how dominant Palmeiras are on home soil, we’re more than happy to back them to win the match with maximum confidence. Boca are likely to sit deep and try and soak up pressure, but having conceded exactly twice in their last 2 away games, it’s hard to have a great deal of faith in them doing so and we think Palmeiras will be able to force penalties via a 2-0 win on the night.