Sao Paulo appear poised to advance into the Copa Sudamericana last eight for the first time in eight years as they head to Cierco Pompeu de Toledo Stadium with a 4-2 lead over Universidad Catolica with kickoff at 5:30 pm.
Sao Paulo has not won the Copa Sudamericana in a decade, but based on their form after seven matches, they seem like the odds-on favorite to reclaim the title in 2022.
Legendary goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni played a big part in their triumph at the Copa Sudamericana 10 years ago, conceding only twice in their eight games played en route to the championship.
Now the manager of this team, Ceni has turned the current generation of Sao Paulo players into a potent attacking unit that scores multiple goals in most matches and has scored 20 goals domestically this season.
Second-leg down by a pair of goals, Chile’s record 16-time champions face a steep hill to climb in their Copa Libertadores quarterfinal against Universidad Católica.
The reigning champions have not gone on to win a knockout round when facing such a deficit since 2005, when they trailed 2-1 after their opening game before defeating Fluminense 2-0 in the return fixture, advancing to the semifinals.
Manager Ariel Holan can look to his team’s domestic campaign as evidence that their current predicament could be reversed, when they scored three unanswered goals in February, defeating Coquimbo 3-2.
Sao Paulo vs Catolica Head to Head
Both sides have five games against each other with hosts taking two wins and three draws. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Goianiense 1-2 Sao Paulo
- Catolica 2-4 Sao Paulo
- Sao Paulo 0-0 Juventude
- Sao Paulo 1-0 Palmeiras
Away
- Catolica 2-0 Unido
- Catolica 2-4 Sao Paulo
- San Felipe 0-3 Catolica
- San Felipe 1-3 Catolica
Sao Paulo Team News
Luciano scored a brace to lead Sao Paulo to victory over La Catolica in the opening match. Reinaldo and Jonathan Calleri each tallied a goal and an assist, while Igor Gomes had one assist. Tricolor Paulista will have three starters suspended for this deciding fixture: Rodrigo Nestor, Igor Vinicius and Calleri were all shown red cards in Santiago.
Catolica Team News
Zampedri scored twice over the weekend as UC blanked Coquimbo 2-0, with Cristian Cuevas assisting on his second goal. The Chileans only tallied five times in the group stage of the Libertadores, with Zampedri scoring twice, while Marcelino Nunez, Mauricio Isla and current Flamengo defender Pablo all found the back of the net once.
Prediction and Odds
With the deficit they are facing, Universidad have no choice but to try something different. That should allow Sao Paulo to do what they did in the opener, catch the Chileans on the break, a tactic they executed to near perfection last Thursday.
- Home Win
- Both Teams to Score
- Goals Over 2.5
