Snak

Campbell hit brace to propel Waterhouse past Arnett Gardens

WATERHOUSE, preparing for another conquest in the Caribbean Football Union Club Championship in Haiti at the weekend, gave themselves a rousing send off with a forceful 3-1 win against 10-man Arnett Gardens in their third-round Red Stripe Premier League game at Drewsland on Monday night.

The result left coach Anthony Patrick pleased. "We are very pleased with this victory today as we ran very, very hard and got a quality of win that could not come at a better time. We had two main objectives going into the match. One was to leave for our short tour abroad on a winning note and to make sure that we win to keep pace at the top, as Harbour View were winners on Sunday."

His opposite number Jerome Waite conceded that it was a very difficult game: "It was a tough match. The margin could have been more. nevertheless we persevered and got a goal, but overall the performance was not good today."

Waterhouse, who depart the country for Haiti today, launched a fierce opening attack of frenetic pace against the visitors, they were in front just after the kick-off from a sixth-minute penalty converted by Hughan Gray, after big defender Oneil Thompson committed the infringement in the area.

Inspired by their early good fortune, Waterhouse continued to press for more success and went farther ahead 10 minutes on, through Romario Campbell, who scored from his direct corner kick for the first of his two goals.

Waterhouse should have increased their lead midway the half, but Chedlin Francoeur, after getting an unhindered run on the Arnett Gardens goal, slammed the ball against an advancing goalkeeper Damian Hyatt.

When the teams returned for the second half it was Arnett Gardens who took the game to their hosts. But even though Waterhouse were showing some visible negative effects from their hectic opening spell, they held firm on their lead as goalkeeper Richard McCallum displayed good form between the uprights with timely interceptions.

Just when things began to look promising for Arnett Gardens after mounting a series of attacks in an attempt to take something out of the game, Campbell struck again for his second in minute 65.

With an exquisite dipping left-footed strike, the talented midfielder beat Hyatt neck and crop from almost 30 yards to settle the issue.

And to add insult to injury, Arnett Gardens went down to 10 players after the former Waterhouse man Kemal Malcolm received his marching orders on the hour mark for violent conduct.

Fabian Reid came off the bench to add some respectability to the score, but time had run out to leave Arnett Gardens consoled by the late goal in the final minute of time added.

Campbell Looks To Waterhouse´s Next Challenge

Minutes after lighting up the Drewsland Stadium with his match-winning performance, star midfielder Romario Campbell was looking at a bigger stage.

The 23-year Campbell, a national midfielder, scored a fantastic double to lift Waterhouse to a 3-1 win over Arnett Gardens in the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) Monday Night game. Hughan Gray scored Waterhouse´s opening goal from the penalty spot in the sixth minute, while Fabian Reid scored a consolation for Arnett Gardens in time added.

"I am feeling great about the performance. It was a great performance from me and the team. This performance boosts the team as we leave on Thursday (tomorrow) for the CFU Championships, so it is a good send-off for the team," Campbell told The Gleaner.

It was his hope, Campbell added, that Waterhouse get off to a positive start in the tournament, where they will play three games in Haiti.

"Hopefully, we get off on a positive note. The team´s momentum is building, the camaraderie is great; we just have to keep doing what we are doing," added the player who made the move from Harbour View in the second half of the season last year.

The Haitian tour, he said, is something he is looking forward to as he bids to get back to full fitness, after missing a fraction of the season because of injury.

personal test

"This is the first time I am going to Haiti and I am looking forward to it to test myself in a different environment and to keep improving. It is probably the first time that a number of the other players on the team will be travelling also, so that should be interesting."

Waterhouse´s chances, Campbell said, would be helped by the presence of two Haitian players in their squad.

"The fact that Chedlin Francouer and Ronald Joseph, our two Haitian players, will be part of the group should be a big plus for us, as they would be familiar with the environment and help us to settle. They may even get us some fans," said the former Norman Manley High School player.

Upon their return, Campbell said, they will relaunch their assault on the Premier League title.

"We have been playing good, attractive football. We have a game in hand against Montego Bay United, so hopefully, we can go there and get the three points and possibly even get to the top of the league. We intend to be in the semi-finals and vying for the title," said Campbell.

The league continues today with four matches.

TODAY´S GAMES

3:30 p.m. Sporting Central vs Tivoli Gardens at Juici Patties Park

3:30 p.m. Montego Bay United vs Humble Lion at Wes Pow Park

4 p.m. Rivoli United vs Boys´ Town at Bramwell Clarke Sports Complex

5 p.m. Cavalier vs Portmore United at Stadium East

Sabella´s attacking thinking has Argentina ready for the World Cup

Posted by Tim Vickery

Leading with Argentina´s strengths is working well for Alejandro Sabella.
Javier Mascherano may turn out for Barcelona at centre-back these days, but he affirms that he still thinks like a midfielder, which is just as well for Argentina´s World Cup challenge. Mascherano will have a key role to play in Brazil in three months´ time, sitting in front of the centre-backs and offering protection on a team that is built to attack.

He knows he is in for a tough time. "Our way of playing means that we end up having an imbalance," he said recently in a fascinating interview with Ole!, Argentina´s sports daily. "Picking four players with such attacking characteristics [Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria] implies that at times we suffer defensively. We are not a team who attack based on possession or order. We are an anarchic team, with very anarchic players."

The warning flag is flying, then, especially for those who remember how Argentina´s World Cup adventure ended four years ago. Mascherano certainly does. He fought a lone, losing battle trying to hold off the attacking hordes of Germans who steamrolled their way to a 4-0 win in the quarterfinal. Argentina´s lack of balance between attack and defence, so evident in the previous round against Mexico, was brutally exposed. The logical fear is that something similar might happen again this year.

There are, though, some crucial differences between the Argentina of 2010 and the 2014 model. The major one is in terms of planning.

Four years ago, then-coach Diego Maradona got carried away in the heat of battle. He had taken over in an awkward situation. Halfway through the qualification campaign, Argentina were in big trouble. There was a real and justified concern that they might miss out altogether on the World Cup.

Though it was never easy, Maradona got them over the line. It appeared that he was constructing a relatively cautious team -- the local press, in the run-up to the World Cup, spoke of the influence of Italian football on Maradona´s tactical thinking. A few months before the tournament his team played a high-profile, high-octane friendly away to Germany. They won 1-0. The Germans had a single shot on goal.

Why, then, were things so different when they met in the World Cup? The main explanation is that Maradona fell victim to his own excesses of emotion. Suddenly the talk in the Argentine camp was of revolutionising the game with an ultra-attacking line-up. Space was found in the team for Carlos Tevez. He had endured an awful qualification campaign, scoring just once and twice being sent off in the first half of crunch ties, and had quite justifiably been left out of the team.

But he has a bond with Maradona -- both poor kids from the peripheries of Buenos Aires who became idols at Boca Juniors. In went Tevez, out dropped Juan Sebastian Veron.

This move front-loaded the team, taking away Messi´s supply line. It also robbed the side of the man whose task on set pieces was to head the ball away at the near post -- Veron had performed this function this time and time again when the sides met in the pre-World Cup friendly. Come the tournament quarter-final, however, he was not on the field. In one of their opening attacks the Germans won a free kick down the left, Argentina defended badly on the front post and found themselves a goal down, chasing a game that slipped ever further away from their grasp.

This illustrates the difference between now and then. Back in 2010 Argentina´s imbalance was a spontaneous development, something that came to be during the course of the competition. This time, the process is the result of careful planning.

Current coach Alejandro Sabella confesses that in a perfect world his team would have more possession and wouldn´t open itself up to such defensive risks. But during the qualification campaign he came to the conclusion that the current line-up was the best way to take advantage of the characteristics of the players at his disposal.

Selecting Angel Di Maria as part of a midfield trio has clear consequences; it means that the team will be direct and lightning-fast on the break. Having him plus a front three -- Messi behind Aguero and Higuain -- clearly puts a strain on the defensive unit. But if the game is going to be an open one, Argentina trust that the riches of their attacking resources will tip things their way -- especially now they are getting the best out of Lionel Messi.

This was Sabella´s great triumph in the qualification campaign and it was born at half-time in Colombia, when Sergio Aguero was introduced. Messi and Aguero combined to turn likely defeat into a morale-boosting victory, and Argentina were away on the road to Brazil.

Sabella worked out that with Aguero and Higuain both working from wide, there was plenty of space in which Messi could operate and plenty of headaches for the opposing defenders. The attack, then, has been built around the quest to get the most out of Messi. There could be no repeat of four years ago, when against the Germans Messi was forced to forage deep to try and set up the play for Tevez -- a clear case of footballing nonsense.

There is no doubt about it; Argentina are taking risks with the attacking line-up they have selected. But the risks are much more calculated than those which led to the 2010 campaign ending in tears.

For Mexicans playing in Europe, it´s a problem of minutes

As a huge fan of the Mexicanos in Europe, the weekends have been hard for me. Which I guess says plenty about the lack of serious problems in my life.

Perhaps it has something to do with the absence of Javier Hernandez’s goals or the bittersweet admiration of Carlos Vela, but recently there has been something inadequate about watching European games over the weekend. Although Hector Moreno, Giovani Dos Santos, Carlos Vela, and Guillermo Ochoa all get regular minutes, it feels as if there is still a missing presence from the players abroad.

I’ll be honest, I don’t have a long history of supporting Bayer Leverkusen, Porto, Twente, or almost any other team which most of the Mexicanos are plying their trade in overseas. Which makes it odd when I’m watching these games, I feel like a father at a school play, patiently waiting for my kid’s one line in the show. Sometimes I’m like the parent of an understudy that shows up anyways even though I know he or she may not even have a chance. It feels that way especially with Diego Reyes and Hector Herrera in FC Porto.

Since the addition of Luis Castro as head coach, Herrera has been somewhat demoted to the bench and Reyes has been brought up to the ... bench as well, for better or worse. The interesting case with Reyes is that even though it may seem positive for him to receive call-ups to the senior team, it could prove to be detrimental to his playing time. Reyes has easily had regular minutes with Porto B but will more than likely have far less with the senior team. Which leaves this question for Reyes just three months before the World Cup: would he rather have regular playing time with Porto B or take a risk and be on the roster for the senior Porto team?

The problem of minutes becomes even worse when I consider watching Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen, or Rayo Vallecano. Not to say that I don’t enjoy watching soccer without my favorite players, but it can be subtly bothersome as a fan to wait for said favorite players. Javier Hernandez might as well begin customizing his seat (Flappy Bird game attachment?) on the Manchester United bench and give advice to Andres Guardado as to which fabric is the most comfortable for sitting a full 90 minutes. Nery Castillo would more than likely love nothing more than to even have an opportunity to customize his own spot on the Rayo Vallecano bench.

The list continues to look bad the more you look around in Europe. Jesus Corona has started twice in a row now for Twente but his performances during those two matches will make it difficult for management to justify more time for himself. Ulises Davila is slowly becoming irrelevant to Cordoba and Gabriel Piccolo is no longer a key player for Partick Thistle.

I know I’m being negative but I guess what worries me is that the Europeos are supposed to be the final and most important piece of the puzzle for El Tri before the World Cup. Yet, when you look at the eight players abroad who have a chance with El Tri, maybe three or four can confidently say that they will get regular minutes during the next couple of months. Guillermo Ochoa, Hector Moreno, and Giovani Dos Santos are all vital players to their clubs while it can be argued either way for Javier Aquino or Hector Herrera.

Then again, maybe El Tri don’t need those players to do well in the World Cup. Perhaps all they need is what they have in the Liga MX with maybe just a couple of the players from abroad.

Either way, more playing time wouldn’t do anybody harm. As a fan, please futbol gods, let that time on the field be soon.

Sebastián Saja: "Es impensable que el plantel no esté con el entrenador"

BUENOS AIRES -- El arquero y capitán de Racing Club, Sebastián Saja, respaldó el miércoles el trabajo del DT Reinaldo Merlo pero, a la vez, aceptó que en el partido del próximo sábado ante Belgrano de Córdoba se verá "la verdad".

"Es impensable que el plantel no esté con el entrenador, somos los primeros que queremos ganar. Pero la verdad está el sábado con Belgrano", manifestó Saja en la conferencia de prensa que brindó el miércoles, un día después de ser apuntado por una bandera como uno de los que quiere a Mostaza afuera del club.

"Lo importante es que podamos bancar al entrenador dentro de la cancha", remarcó el arquero, quien consideró que las palabras sirven para los titulares de los diarios.

Y descartó que el plantel no esté poniendo todo para levantar, porque "está en juego el prestigio de los jugadores", tanto de los experimentados como el de los más jóvenes también.

"La gente tiene todo el derecho a manifestarse. Lo de la bandera es una minoría que no representa a todo el hincha de Racing", minimizó el Chino.

A su vez, el arquero negó cualquier tipo de negociación con otro club a futuro y aseguró que "la prioridad es sacar a Racing de esta situación" en referencia a que suma siete partidos sin triunfos y está último en el torneo Final.

"No puedo pensar en un futuro más allá del partido con Belgrano. Estoy muy preocupado por este presente", reconoció.

"Estamos en una situacion complicada", admitió Saja, consultado sobre el promedio ya es algo que les preocupe y por todo el contexto, el arquero señaló que "el de Belgrano es una partido importantísimo".

Racing Club, último con apenas cuatro puntos, recibirá a Belgrano de Córdoba el sábado desde las 17 en el estadio Juan Domingo Perón de Avellaneda bajo el arbitraje de Saúl Laverni.

Ricardo Caruso Lombardi: "Si pierdo un partido más me voy"

BUENOS AIRES -- El director técnico de Quilmes, Ricardo Caruso Lombardi, reconoció el miércoles que su futuro está "condicionado" al resultado del próximo domingo ante Boca Juniors, por la 9na. fecha del torneo Final, y afirmó que si pierde se va.

"Los resultados mandan y te condicionan, si pierdo un partido más me voy", aseguró Caruso Lombardi en la previa del duelo ante los dirigidos por Carlos Bianchi.

En diálogo con FM Sur, el DT Cervecero, que lleva apenas seis partidos al frente del equipo (dos triunfos y cuatros derrotas), aclaró que el condicionamiento es propio ya que sabe que la dirigencia no lo echará.

"Cuando uno no encuentra respuestas en el equipo se tiene que ir solo. Igual, todavía no me pasó", remarcó Caruso, quien ante los rumores negó cualquier contacto con Racing Club, ante una posible salida de Reinaldo Merlo.

En cuanto a lo futbolístico, el entrenador tiene varias incógnitas ya que con respecto al equipo que cayó el lunes ante Lanús (1-0), como visitante, ya tiene tres bajas confirmadas por lesión.

Los que no podrán jugar son los mediocampistas Sebastián Romero (desgarro) y Lucas Pérez Godoy (contractura) y el delantero Sergio Hipperdinger, quien por una fractura en el tercer dedo del pie izquierdo se perderá el resto del campeonato.

En tanto, los que estarían en condiciones de regresar son el defensor Luciano Abecasis (molestia en el recto anterior izquierdo) y el enganche Miguel Caneo (contractura en el isquiotibial izquierdo).

Mientras tanto, la dirigencia aguarda la sanción al estadio por parte del Aprevide para saber cómo y dónde se jugará el duelo ante Boca Juniors programado para el domingo a las 18.15 con arbitraje de Darío Herrera.

Sporting Kansas City wary of Cruz Azul attack

MEXICO CITY -- His team holds a precious one-goal lead in its CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal and, as a result, Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes knows Cruz Azul will come out on fire in the return match Wednesday.

"They´re going to throw everything at us," he said. "They have so many incredible attacking qualities. That´s something we have to be very, very, attentive to."

In last week´s firs leg, defender Kevin Ellis scored the only goal to lift host Kansas City to a 1-0 win. Sporting needs only a tie at the Estadio Azul to progress to the semifinals.

"Now it´s going to be another challenge," Vermes expressed.

Cruz Azul, which leads Liga MX with a 9-1-1 mark and 28 points, enters the game in good spirits. It is coming off a 2-1 home victory over another CCL quarterfinalist, Club Tijuana, as Marco Fabian struck for a second-half brace last Friday

The Mexican side also is tough to beat at home as evidenced by a 5-0-0 mark in the Clausura.

Though the current Major League Soccer champion respects Cruz Azul, its players are optimistic they can reach the final four.

"We should be confident," team captain and central defender Matt Besler said. "We´re going to go for it.

"It´s going to be tough to go down there to get a result. We´re going to have the right game plan and we know what to do to advance."

Both teams will not be at full strength. Kansas City defender Seth Sinovic is suspended, while Cruz Azul´s Rogelio Chavez and Alejandro Castro have to sit out the game as well due to one-game bans.

Sporting, despite its CCL triumph, has not won in its first two league matches this year (0-1-1).

On Saturday, KC allowed FC Dallas to equalize in the 90th minute for a 1-1 draw, the second successive week it let points to slip away in the closing seconds. In its opener, Sporting surrendered a stoppage-time goal to the Seattle Sounders in a 1-0 loss.

Sporting will have to overcome some history in the game because MLS teams have not fared well in Mexico in CCL competition. MLS sides have registered a 2-5-27 after Club Tijuana’s 4-2 triumph over the LA Galaxy on Tuesday, while being outscored 93-31. An MLS side has never won a knockout-round match in Mexico, having gone 0-7-2.

At high elevation, Toluca and San Jose are level

TOLUCA, Mexico – Last December, when the San Jose Earthquakes learned they were going to meet Toluca in the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) quarterfinals, head coach Mark Watson quickly realized a good “off-the-field” game plan was necessary.

After all, Toluca is 9,000 feet above sea level, the highest elevation at which the Earthquakes would play in their history.

San Jose needs a win or a tie in which it scores at least two goals at the Estadio Nemesio Diez on Wednesday to reach the semifinal stage. So, every little bit will help the team.

“We started looking at this game at the end of last season because we knew we needed a plan,” Watson said. “We spoke to a number of experts in the field of altitude training, including Olympic team doctors and our own team doctors at Stanford. They gave us recommendations and we are executing those in order for our players maximize the performance.”

The Earthquakes, who overcame a two-goal deficit in the second half to tie Real Salt Lake (3-3) in their league season-opener on Saturday, flew to Mexico City the next day. Until Tuesday, in an effort to ease the transition to full altitude, they lodged at an elevation about half that of Toluca.

San Jose´s defense will be bolstered by the return of central defender and United States international Clarence Goodson, who sat out the opening leg due to a suspension.

“We are feeling good right now,” said Goodson. “We thought we played a very good game at home and we are a bit disappointed that we did not score more goals based on the chances that we created. It is a one-off on Wednesday, so anything can happen. We know that we are going to have to defend well and the longer we can keep it at 0-0, the better for us. We have proven time and time again that we can score goals and score goals late.”

San Jose managed a 1-1 home draw in the first leg last week on substitute Alan Gordon´s header five minutes into second-half stoppage time, after Raul Nava – the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals -- tallied for Toluca.

The Red Devils (8-1-2, 25 points) are second to Cruz Azul (9-1-1, 28 points) in the Liga MX Clasura. They are coming off a 2-0 away win over Queretaro on Friday and should be rested for the encounter.

"Getting a good result on Wednesday is very important to us," Toluca´s Miguel Ponce said. "We want to move forward in this tournament and not only that, we want to win this tournament. We must work very well these days to deal with this game against San Jose, which will be very difficult and very intense. The mindset is to win."

MLS teams have not fared well in Mexico in CCL competition, registering a 2-5-26 (w-d-l) record and being outscored 89-29 prior to Tuesday’s quarterfinal encounter between host Club Tijuana and the LA Galaxy. An MLS side has never won a knockout-round match in Mexico, having gone 0-2-7. The last MLS team to win there was the Seattle Sounders, who bested Monterrey in the group stage in 2011.

Bridgestone Libertadores: five matches on Wednesday


Bolívar vs. Flamengo

With the obligation to win, Bolívar will welcome Brazilian club Flamengo to La Paz in a rematch of a game played last week at the Maracana.

The Bolivian team is with high spirits after a 2-2 draw with Flamengo.

Flamengo, who arrived Monday in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz (East) 470 meters above sea level, hope to forget about that draw and have their sights set on all three points.

The match is scheduled for 9:00 pm local time (01H00 GMT Thursday) at the Hernando Siles stadium and will be called by referee Mario Alberto Diaz.

Probable starting teams:

Bolívar: Rómel Quiñonez - Ronald Eguino, Nelson Cabrera, Luis Gutiérrez, Lorgio Álvarez, José Luis Sánchez Capdevila - Juan Miguel Callejón, Damir Miranda, Wálter Flores - Juan Carlos Arce and William Ferreira. COACH: Xabier Azkargorta.

Flamengo: Felipe - Paulinho, Samir, Wallace, Joao Paulo - Muralha, Carlos Eduardo, Alecsandro, Mugni - Everton and Hernane. COACH: Jayme de Almeida.


León vs. Emelec

Mexican club León will look to get past Emelec of Ecuador in the fourth round of Group 7 and make up for the defeat last week. The South Americans however aspire to retain the lead in the group.

Emelec not only lead their group at the Libertadores with six points, but also are leading their domestic league with 19 points and two games in hand.

The match will be played starting at 7:00 pm local time (01H00 GMT Thursday) at the Nou Camp stadium in the city of León, Guanajuato (center).

Argentine Diego Ceballos will be the referee for this match. The linesmen will be his countrymen Iván Núñez and Gustavo Rossi.

Probable teams:

León: William Yarbrough, Jonny Magallón, Ignacio González, Rafael Márquez, Edwin Hernández, José Vázquez, Carlos Peña, Elías Hernández, Luis Montes, Matías Britos, Nelson Maz. COACH: Gustavo Matosas.

Emelec: Esteban Dreer, Oscar Bagüí, Cristian Nasuti, Jorge Guagua, Diego Corozo, Osbaldo Lastra, Pedro Quiñónez, Luis Escalada, Ángel Mena, Denis Stracqualursi, Marcos Caicedo. COACH: Gustavo Quinteros.



Peñarol vs. Arsenal

Peñarol will play Arsenal of Argentina needing a victory to stay alive in the tournament. On the other hand the team from Buenos Aires will seek points to pave their way to the second round of the tournament.

Santos Laguna of Mexico leads the group while Arsenal is second with six points.

Arsenal, coached by Gustavo Alfaro, has had a bitter start to their domestic season where they occupy one of the last positions of the tournament with only 7 points from eight games.

This match will be held in the Centenario stadium starting at 7:45 pm local time (21h45 GMT).

The three man referee team from Brazil will be Wilton Sampaio, Alesandro Rocha and Bruno Boschilia.

Possible starting teams:

Peñarol: Danilo Lerda - Carlos Valdez, Emilio Mac Eachen and Joe Bizera (or Baltasar Silva) - Emiliano Albín, Marcel Novick, Luis Aguiar, Paolo Hurtado, Jorge Rodríguez - Jonathan Rodríguez and Marcelo Zalayeta. COACH: Jorge Fossati.

Arsenal: Cristian Campestrini - Martín Nervo, Mariano Echeverría, Eduardo Casais, Damián Pérez - Franco Zuculini, Iván Marcone, Ramiro Carrera, Matías Zaldivia - Emilio Zelaya and Julio Furch. COACH: Gustavo Alfaro.


Newell´s vs. Gremio

Argentina´s Newell´s Old Boys will play Brazil´s Gremio in hopes of beating their Brazilian rival to reach the top of Group 6.

After three rounds Gremio is the leader with 7 points followed by Newell´s (+3 goal difference) and Colombia´s Atletico Nacional (-2), both with 4 points. Uruguayan club Nacional brings up the rear with 1 point.

The match will start at 10:00 pm local time (01H00 GMT) at the "Coloso Marcelo Bielsa" stadium in Rosario.

The match will be called by Ecuadorian Carlos Vera. His linesmen will be his compatriots Christian Lescano and Byron Romero.

Possible teams:

Newell´s: Nahuel Guzmán - Marcos Cáceres, Víctor López, Gabriel Heinze and Milton Casco - Ever Banega, Hernán Villalba and Lucas Bernardi - Víctor Figueroa or Alexis Castro, Ezequiel Ponce and Maxi Rodríguez. COACH: Alfredo Berti.

Gremio: Marcelo Grohe - Pará, Werley, Rhodolfo y Wendell - Edinho, Christian Riveros, Ramiro - Dudu or Alan Ruiz, Luan and Hernán Barcos. COACH: Enderson Moreira.


Atlético Mineiro vs. Nacional

Atletico Mineiro of Brazil, the reigning champions, will seek a victory against Nacional of Paraguay to consolidate their lead at the top of Group 4.

Both teams fought to a 2-2 draw last week in Ciudad del Este (330 km from Asunción). Mineiro sits on 7 points, three more than their Paraguayan rival, and a victory could put them into the knockout stages. Zamora of Venezuela and Independiente of Colombia close out the group with three points each.

The match will start at 7:45 pm local time (22h45 GMT) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

The three man Ecuadorian referee team is comprised of Omar Ponce, Carlos Herrera and Luis Vera.

Possible starting teams:

Atlético Mineiro: Víctor - Marcos Rocha, Nicolás Otamendi, Leonardo Silva, Jesús Dátolo - Pierre, Josué, Ronaldinho, Fernandinho - Jo and Diego Tardelli. COACH: Paulo Autuori.

Nacional: Ignacio Don - Ramón Coronel, Leonardo Cáceres, Fabián Balbuena, David Mendoza - Marcos Melgarejo, Marcos Riveros, Derlis Orué, Silvio Torales - Julián Benítez and Fredy Bareiro. COACH: Gustavo Morínigo.

Keko Villalva: "Mi idea es ganar minutos y poder despegar"

BUENOS AIRES -- El delantero de River, Daniel Villalva, que podrá ser titular el domingo ante Lanús por la lesión del colombiano Teófilo Gutiérrez, aseguró que no ve la hora de sumar minutos y ganar confianza.

"Siempre trabajo para poder estar en el equipo y si tengo la oportunidad de jugar voy a dar lo mejor por el bien del equipo, mi idea es ganar minutos y poder despegar", expresó

El Keko que estuvo a punto de irse a principio de año, eligió quedarse para tener una oportunidad y en charla con la Red destacó: "Sabía que iba a ser difícil porque hay grande delanteros, pero que se decidió entre todos que me quede y ahora trato de aprovechar las oportunidades".

El delantero que estuvo a préstamo en Argentinos Juniors durante el 2013, fue pretendido por Quilmes y nuevamente por Argentinos pero los directivos prefirieron no cederlo.

Al respecto, el jugador contó: "hablé con (Ricardo) Caruso Lombardi, me llamaron de Argentinos, pero el club, y todos decidimos quedarnos, me gustaría poder afianzarme en River".

Y aseveró en este mismo sentido: "Cuando volví­ a River sabía por la calidad de delanteros que hay me iba a costar, pero por suerte hice bien las cosas en la pretemporada y las oportunidades de entrar aparecen, eso hace que días a día siga trabajando para no aflojar".

El Keko, durante esta temporada, fue al banco y no ingresó ante Gimnasia La Plata, Godoy Cruz, San Lorenzo y recién jugó ante Arsenal cuando ingresó a la media hora del segundo tiempo y a los 27 minutos del segundo tiempo frente a All Boys, por lo que si es titular frente a Lanús será la primera vez con Ramón Díaz.