Preview: Racing Club vs. Cruzeiro – prediction, team news, lineups

A new one Copa Sudamericana champion will be crowned on Saturday at the Estadio General Pablo Rojas in Paraguay as Racing Club and Cruzeiro attempt to lift the trophy for the first time.

The Argentines bounced back to win their second-leg semi-final clash against Corinthians 2-1, advancing 4-3 on aggregate, while Celeste shut out Lanus 1-0 in Buenos Aires to win the tie by a cumulative score of 2-1.

Match preview

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Despite trailing after just six minutes in a do-or-die encounter with Corinthians, Racing Club held on to win a third consecutive home game in this competition.

Saturday will be their first appearance in a continental final since going down in the 1989 Recopa Sudamericana against Nacional of Uruguay, a match they lost 1-0 on aggregate.

Gustavo Costas has this team in ideal form heading into this game, winning five consecutive meetings in all competitions.

With a win this weekend, El Primer Grande will triumph at a CONMEBOL tournament for the first time since the Copa Libertadores in 1967, when they defeated Nacional 2-1 after the first two meetings between the two ended in 0-0 draws.

No side from Argentina has won the Copa Sudamericana crown since Defensa y Justicia defeated Lanus in the 2020 final 3-0.

La Academia have never lost to Brazilian opposition at home in this competition, defeating Bragantino (3-0), Athletico Paranaense (4-1) and Corinthians (2-1) in Argentina earlier in the tournament.

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Cruzeiro overcame a partisan crowd in Argentina as a first-half stoppage-time goal against Lanus propelled them into the final of this tournament.

Fernando Diniz has never lost a CONMEBOL club final, leading Fluminense to a Copa Libertadores victory a year ago and the Recopa Sudamericana title in 2024.

Cruzeiro enter this final having lost two of their previous three meetings across all competitions, with their previous four competitive matches decided by a single goal.

They have conceded just once in six away games at the Sudamericana this year and lost 1-0 to Boca Juniors in the last 16, their only defeat in the competition as the visitors in 2024.

Since Athletico Paranaense lifted this trophy in 2021 (1-0 over Bragantino), Brasileiro Serie A teams have lost the last two Sudamericana finals, with Sao Paolo suffering a 2-0 defeat against Independiente del Valle in 2022 and Fortaleza losing to LDU Quito d. penalties a year ago (4-3).

Raposa have not captured a continental tournament since the 1997 Copa Libertadores, when they defeated Peruvian club Sporting Cristal 1-0 on aggregate in the final.

Racing Club Copa Sudamericana form:

Racing Club form (all competitions):

Cruzeiro Copa Sudamericana form:

Cruzeiro form (all competitions):

Team news

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Racing had the same starting XI in legs one and two in their semi-final match against Corinthians, with Roger Martinez and Santiago Solari be the only newcomers to perform instead Maximiliano Salas and the tournament’s joint leading scorer Adrian Martinez in the final stages of the decisive match.

A brace courtesy of Juan Fernando Quintero enabled them to advance to the final after Yuri Alberto had given the visitors the lead in the early stages of leg two.

For this upcoming meeting, Cruzeiro is likely to be missing Rafa Silvathat has to do with a thigh injury, while Gabriel Veron, Matheus Pereira and Hey Jorge are eligible to play despite missing their home fixture this week through suspension.

Jorge scored their only two goals in the semi-finals, including the winner in Argentina, while Cassio made four stops to collect his second clean sheet of the competition.

Racing Club possible starting line-up:
Aryans; Martirena, Di Cesare, Garcia Basso, Rojas; Almendra, Sosa, Nardoni; Quintero, A. Martinez, Salas

Cruzeiro’s possible starting line-up:
Cassio; William, Marcelo, Villalba, Xavier; Romero, Wallace; Veron, Pereira, Diaz; Jorge

We say: Racing Club 1-0 Cruzeiro

Racing Club have had their share of close games of late and we believe experience and their strong form will be enough to win over Cruzeiro who should put up a good fight.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match, please click here.

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