Within the first matches of the Copa Libertadores round of 16, the Uruguayan team Nacional from the city of Montevideo will host at their home ground Botafogo, the team from the Brazilian Serie A. Bookmakers are on the side of the future hosts, the Nacional footballers, and it is hard to disagree with that, considering the Uruguayans’ capability to play at their home ground, but the Brazilians should not be underestimated as well. Botafogo are a team capable of surprises, which was clearly seen last season especially.
Within the last six matches Nacional had a draw only once with Montevideo Wanderers with five victories over River Plate Montevideo, Danubio, Racing, Juventud and Sud America. Nacional are on the first position in the tournament table of the Uruguayan championship, having 16 points in the asset after six played rounds, the team Montevideo Wanderers have two points less.
Botafogo, in their turn, lost three matches in a row, two of which were played against Avai and Corinthians in the Brazilian championship. Another match was in the Brazilian Cup against Atletico Mineiro. Botafogo are on the tenth position in the Brazilian championship’s tournament table, the team has 15 points in the asset. The Lone Star have five gained points in Serie A, only one victory with three defeats in six games.
Nacional and Botafogo are not very efficient teams. Besides, the upcoming game is the first match of the play-off round, and such matches rarely end up offensively. A bet on totals under has decent chances on success in the couple.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 goals in the match
