Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana Acca Tips: Intimidating venues at the heart of the action

The Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana are both at the semi-final stage, and Nathan Joyes showcases his best three selections across three first-leg fixtures.

With Fluminense and LDU Quito on the hunt for an early lead, find out who else the South American expert likes across both competitions in this midweek South American acca.

• LDU Quito vs Defensa y Justicia: LDU Quito -0.75 Asian Handicap
• Fluminense vs Internacional: Fluminense to Win
• Boca Juniors vs Palmeiras: BTTS – No

Acca odds: 5.60

Odds via bet365 as at 08:00 25th September 2023. Odds may now differ.

LDU Quito vs Defensa y Justicia: Altitude advantage key for hosts

Ecuador, Copa Sudamericana, Wednesday 27th September, 23:00 (UK)

LDU Quito will know they will have to take full advantage of their high altitude in their first leg against Defensa y Justicia. They beat Sao Paulo, regarded as one of the best teams left in the tournament, 2-1 at home in the previous round.

Having started fast, LDU Quito found themselves two to the good inside 25 minutes. They finished the game with 19 shots and eight corner kicks, really taking the game to the Brazilians, who were pulled apart at times.

Having won all but one game at home in the Sudamericana – a 0-0 draw with Botafogo sandwiched in between – visitors do not enjoy playing 9,000ft above sea level.
Defensa y Justicia are unbeaten on their travels in this tournament, where they also managed to win in Ecuador against Emelec. However, Emelec are based in Guayaquil, a city which is two metres above sea level and is a location with no real advantage.

The Argentines are arguably stronger on paper, but up in the Andes mountains, they’ll face conditions they aren’t used to, so LDU Quito will hope to press their defence as often as possible.

The Ecuadorian club utilised their wingers against Sao Paulo – with Jhohjan Julio and Renato Ibarra on the scoresheet – so expect LDU Quito to turn to them and their pace as much as possible.

• Selection: LDU Quito -0.75 Asian Handicap
• Best Odds: 1.92
• Bookmaker: bet365

Fluminense vs Internacional: No ill feeling for Flu

Brazil, Copa Libertadores, Thursday 28th September, 01:30 (UK)

Fluminense and Internacional both thoroughly deserve their spots in the semi-final, and once again, we’ll witness a Brazilian team in the final for a fifth straight year.

These sides met at the Maracana back in June, where Fluminense came out on top as 2-0 winners in Serie A. The result was no real surprise due to the dominance Fernando Diniz has built at home this season.

You have to go all the way back to January to find the last time Flu tasted defeat at home – a 1-0 loss to Botafogo in the Campeonato Carioca. Since, they’ve played 25 matches – winning 20 of those and drawing just five.

Diniz ball, if you aren’t familiar with it, allows his attacking players to express themselves freely. No one in the opposing half is restricted to an area, allowing his players to swarm opponents out of possession and dominate when in it.

This suffocating, fast-paced football has proven to be successful, and one which Inter couldn’t cope with back in June. On the road, they’ve won one in their last eight – including the 2-0 defeat to Flu – scoring just three in their previous five.

One of those was a considerable goalkeeping error in their 3-1 defeat to Botafogo, and if Inter are struggling to find the back of the net, it’s going to be a hard job to keep Flu quiet. The hosts have only fired a blank twice at the Maracana in 2023, and everything points towards a home win here.

• Selection: Fluminense to Win
• Best Odds: 1.83 (TRACKED BET)
• Bookmaker: bet365

Boca vs Palmeiras: Brazilians to bank on defence at La Bombonera

Argentina, Copa Libertadores, Friday 29th September, 01:30 (UK)

Boca are representing not just Argentina but the rest of the continent as they look to prevent an all-Brazilian final.

It’s safe to say they endured an easy group stage, followed by one of the easier routes to the semi-finals than most. Relying on two penalty shootouts to progress will only get you so far, and now they’re due to face the tournament favourites, they could be in for a frustrating evening at La Bombonera.

Boca previously drew 0-0 against Racing in the quarter-final first leg at home. Despite dominating the game and the statistics, they couldn’t break down a Racing defence which had been rather poor on their travels all campaign.

Palmeiras, on the other hand, have been steady throughout the tournament. Their only defeat on the road came away to Bolivar in La Paz when they rotated heavily. Abel Ferreira will know his team is capable of keeping it tight and only being aggressive when they need to be.

We saw this when they came away from Athletico MG with a 1-0 lead in the round of 16. Against higher quality opposition, Palmeiras appear capable of upping their game and putting in professional performances.

Ferreira will fancy his chances back on home soil with such a strong record in Brazil. The main job is to frustrate Boca in front of their own fans, and if any team in this competition can do that, it’s the 2021 champions.

• Selection: Under 2.5 Goals
• Best Odds: 1.70
• Bookmaker: bet365

SAFER GAMBLING

At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.