Will ‘Gabigol’ strike again?
Flamengo await Barcelona of Ecuador in the first leg of the semi-finals of the 62nd edition of the Copa Libertadores. The home side enter the match as clear favourites. With Gabriel Barbosa, they have the best striker in the competition and the form is right on top of that.
In the domestic Serie A, fellow champions Palmeiras were beaten on the penultimate matchday and Verdao are, after all, also defending champions in the current edition of the most important club competition in South America.
The visitors, for their part, can already celebrate a place in the top four of the prestigious competition as a major success and will therefore be under no pressure at the Maracana. For the match between Flamengo and Barcelona, the tip includes another goal by “Gabigol”.
Brazil Flamengo – Statistics & current form
Mengao had to be patient for 38 years before winning the competition once again two years ago. Of course, the team from Rio de Janeiro does not want it to take that long again and their performances so far in the current edition are encouraging in the direction of another triumph.
Whereas last year’s team had to narrowly miss out on the dream of defending the title in a penalty shootout against Racing Club from Argentina in the round of 16, this year’s hurdles in the playoffs were cleared with aplomb after a solid group phase.
First of all, Defensa y Justica from Argentina were clearly defeated, then Club Olimpia from Paraguay was even taught a lesson. With 4:1 and 5:1, they made it into the top four teams in impressive fashion. The results quickly make it clear that the attack, in particular, is in top form.
At least three goals by Mengao?
With this in mind, odds on the home side scoring in both halves of the match between Flamengo and Barcelona are a good idea. In addition, bets on more than two goals by the Mengao are a good idea. For the latter prediction, quotes of 1.95 can be discovered at Betway.
Flamengo are also playing stably in their domestic Serie A. Only one of the last five league games was lost. The defeat came in the dress rehearsal for the upcoming match against Gremio. However, their opponents are in great form at the moment and have recorded their fourth win in the last five rounds of matches.
In Serie A, Flamengo have also made gains
Flamengo, for its part, occupies third place and thanks to a recent period of mostly success, the gap to Palmeiras in second place has been narrowed considerably. Furthermore, the red-and-blacks have two games less than Verdao.
The direct comparison with the record champions from Sao Paulo was also clearly won recently. Only leaders Atletico-MG seem to be a real obstacle to Flamengo’s third consecutive Campeonato Brasileiro title.
However, the season is still long and the upswing in play suggests that the Rio-based side will continue to make up ground. In addition, the strong attack can be equally observed in league play: No team in the Brazilian top flight scores more goals!
Predicted Flamengo line-up:
Alves – Viana – Gustavo Henrique – Ramon – Luiz – Arao – Ribeiro – de Arrascaeta – Pereira – Pedro – Barbosa
Last matches played by Flamengo:
Ecuador Barcelona – Statistics & current form
Barcelona have never been able to win the Copa Libertadores. However, it was enough for at least two final appearances. These came in the 1990s and are therefore quite a long time ago.
Most recently, they were able to eliminate Fluminense, which prevented an all-Brazilian semi-final of the Copa Libertadores, as besides the upcoming opponent on top, the two other semi-finalists come from the country of the five-time world champion. The success against Flu was again very close: In the end, only the away goals rule tipped the scales in favour of coach Fabian Bustos’s eleven.
Barcelona is out of step in league play
The Serie A champions in Ecuador are also not in very good form at the moment. The 16-time title holders have even slumped in the domestic league: three defeats in a row before a win against Cuenza last weekend. However, it was not more than a compulsory win because the opponents are in the bottom of the table.
Furthermore, the win only came with a goal in the fifth minute of injury time. While they finished the first stage of Serie A, which ended last July, in second place, they currently occupy only seventh place in the second phase of the season. Of course, this is far too little for the demands of “Ídolo del Ecuador”.
Top offensive player Diaz has forgotten how to score goals
Not in form is, among others, Damian Diaz in the offensive. The striker delivered ten goals and nine assists in the previous year, but has been waiting for his next goal for seven games.
The fact that no one can step into his shoes at the moment is evident from the fact that he is still one of Barcelona’s top three goal scorers, along with the two Argentinians Sergio Lopez and Emmanuel Martinez. The latter, however, will now have to miss out as well, having been sent off in the 2-2 second leg draw with Fluminense in the last round.
Predicted Barcelona line-up :
Burrai – Castillo – Leon – Riveros – Lopez – Molina – Perlaza – Oyola – Mastriani – Garces – Diaz
Last Barcelona games :
Flamengo – Barcelona Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
This is the third time the duel has taken place. The teams met for the first time in last year’s Copa Libertadores. On that occasion, the footballers from Sugarloaf won 3-0 on their own turf and repeated their success in the second leg in Ecuador thanks to a 2-1 victory. For the clash between Flamengo and Barcelona, the betting odds once again assign the home side the role of favourites.
Brazil Flamengo – Barcelona Ecuador betting tips
When Flamengo won the Copa Libertadores in the final against River Plate two years ago, it was mainly due to the performance of Gabriel Barbosa. The attacker took the competition’s top scorer’s crown at the time, contributing both late goals in a 2-1 win over the Argentines in the aforementioned final.
In the current Copa Libertadores, “Gabigol” is once again performing very well, which is why in the duel between Flamengo and Barcelona the tip includes a goal by him
The striker is once again at the top of the scoring charts with ten goals and there will undoubtedly be plenty of scoring opportunities for him in the upcoming match. The “Toreros” do not seem to be in very good form at the moment and have clearly lost ground in the domestic Serie A in recent weeks. Moreover, they have the clearly inferior squad compared to Mengao.
The underdog role can therefore be attributed to them in full strength. At Unibet, odds of 1.58 can be used for the prediction of the showdown between Flamengo and Barcelona.
