River Plate vs Colo-Colo Match Analysis and Prediction

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River Plate only need a single point on Friday to send themselves into the knockout stage of the Copa Libertadores for an eighth consecutive campaign as they host Colo-Colo at El Monumental.

The hosts are unbeaten in round-robin play this year, leading the Group F standings with 10 points, while the current league leaders in Chile are three points behind them in second.

Los Millonarios are in another solid position to make the last 16 of this tournament, though it has not always been smooth sailing for them this time around. They have struggled with pass accuracy in their previous two group matches, clicking below 80% against Colo-Colo and Fortaleza.

One of the most desired managers in South America at the moment could be Marcelo Gallardo, who has done a masterful job since taking over this Argentine club.

The former Argentine attacking midfielder, who has secured numerous trophies since taking charge of Los Millonarios, likes to create overloads to one side of the field, which has allowed his team to have plenty of isolations, while placing his players in their 1V1 situations.

After missing out on this tournament in 2021, Colo-Colo are in a position to make the knockout stage of this competition for the first time since 2018.

They are on a roll domestically this season, leading the league with 27 points, with only one defeat in their last nine matches, though they are not at their best in this competition, with just a single point in their previous two matches.

It has been 14 years since they have earned three points against a club from Argentina in this tournament, though none of those seven victories came away from home.

In their four matches so far, Gustavo Quinteros’ side have failed to put their opponents away at times when they have the chance.

River Plate vs Colo-Colo head to head

The two clubs have previously met on five occasions in the Copa Libertadores, where River Plate have calimed three victories while Colo-Colo have won once, and they have drawn once. Colo-Colo have scored four goals and and conceded six. In their last meetings, River Plate claimed a 2-1 away victory.

Colo Colo 1-0 River Plate 08/06/67

River Plate 1-1 Colo Colo 06/07/67

Colo Colo 1-2 River Plate 22/02/07

River Plate 1-0 Colo Colo 25/04/07

Colo Colo 1-2 River Plate 28/04/22

River Plate latest home form

River Plate lost their last home game 2-1 to Tigre in the league. However, they have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have been unbeaten in their four matches prior to that. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded six.

River Plate 4-2 Argentinos Juniors 11/04/22

River Plate 2-0 Fortaleza 14/04/22

River Plate 1-1 Atletico Tucuman 25/04/22

River Plate 2-1 Platense 09/05/22

River Plate 1-2 Tigre 12/05/22

River Plate latest away form

River Plate have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their five most recent matches. They drew 1-1 with Fortaleza in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 12 goals and conceded four.

Banfield 1-2 River Plate 18/04/22

Talleres de Cordoba 1-0 River Plate 21/04/22

Colo Colo 1-2 River Plate 28/04/22

Sarmiento 0-7 River Plate 01/05/22

Fortaleza 1-1 River Plate 06/05/22

Colo-Colo latest home form

Colo-Colo have recently been on a good run of form at home, having lost just one of their nine most recent matches. They managed to defeat Coquimbo Unido 4-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 13 goals and conceded four.

Colo Colo 4-0 Union La Calera 01/04/22

Colo Colo 2-1 Alianza Lima 14/04/22

Colo Colo 2-1 Cobresal 18/04/22

Colo Colo 1-2 River Plate 28/04/22

Colo Colo 4-0 Coquimbo Unido 15/05/22

Colo-Colo latest away form

Colo-Colo have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their seven most recent matches. They managed to defeat Curico Unido 2-1 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored seven goals and conceded six.

Fortaleza 1-2 Colo Colo 08/04/22

Union Espanola 2-1 Colo Colo 11/04/22

Universidad Catolica 1-1 Colo Colo 24/04/22

Alianza Lima 1-1 Colo Colo 06/05/22

Curico Unido 1-2 Colo Colo 10/05/22

River Plate news

River Plate remain without midfielder Felipe Pena Biafore, who has a cruciate ligament rupture, while Robert Rojas is nursing a tibia and fibula fracture and Matias Suarez is out with a thigh muscle strain.

Goalkeeper Franco Armani made seven stops in their previous home game, and should retain his spot in goal.

Colo-Colo news

Gabriel Costa has contributed a pair of assists to lead the team, while Lucero’s brace and a goal each by Matias Zaldivia and Cesar Fuentes gave them a 4-0 win over Coquimbo.

Quinteros has only inserted one new face into the starting XI, with Zaldivia replacing Emiliano Amor on defence for matchday two.

Prediction and Odds

River Plate are effective in many ways, and as good as Colo-Colo are in controlling the pace of a game, we do not expect them to outdo the Argentines.

Should the hosts have the ball for long stretches as anticipated, Los Albos are likely to give in to a defeat.

Odds: 1 1.82 X 2.00 2 2.30