Independiente del Valle has gone from being a hunter to being hunted. Wounded after two defeats, the Ecuadorians hope to undo the damage done by the brave debutants of Colombia Deportivo Pereira in the second leg of the round of 16 of the Libertadores.

Undaunted, the Colombians lost 1-0 to the “giant killer” of South America in the first game of the round of 16. A draw is enough for the new team of the tournament to advance to the next round.

Regardless of valley vs. Deportivo Pereira: TV channel, schedules and live streaming to watch Copa Sudamericana Round of 16

Pereira and Del Valle will meet again this Wednesday at Quito’s Atahualpa Olympic Stadium, kick-off at 10:00 local time (00:00 GMT Thursday), in a match where both teams promise to fight.

Independiente del Valle confirms that they do not agree with the Pro League championship system

The best of the series will meet in the quarter-finals with the winner of the meeting between Atlético Mineiro and Palmeiras of Brazil.

Possible settings:

Valley Independent: Moises Ramirez; Matías Fernández, Mateo Carabajal, Agustín García, Julio Ortiz, Jordy Alcívar, Kevin Rodríguez, Cristian Pellerano; Lorenzo Faravelli, Junior Sornoza, Lautaro Diaz. DT: Martin Anselmi.

Deportivo Pereira: Aldair Quintana; Carlos Garces, Juan Camilo Moreno, Carlos Ramirez; Eber Moreno, Yimmi Congo, Juan Zuluaga, Jimer Fory; Larry Angulo, Arley Rodríguez and Angelo Rodríguez. DT: Aleksandar Restrepo.

Pali “giant slayer”

Luck stopped smiling this season for Independiente del Valle, the current champion of the Copa Sudamericana and Recopa.

The defeat against Deportivo Pereira last week is not the only blow suffered by the “rayados del valle”. The weekend at the Ecuadorian tournament Mushuc Runa also beat Independiente 1-0.

In the UEFA Conmebol Champions Challenge, the Ecuadorians lost on penalties against the Spanish Sevilla.

Although not going through their best moments, Independiente commands respect from their next opponent.

“We know it will be a difficult game, but anything is possible,” Danilo Santacruz, the scorer of the only goal in the first leg, told reporters, according to statements published by Caracol TV.

Del Valle is among the candidates to write his name on the list of champions of the Copa Libertadores. In 2016, he was runner-up in the tournament.

The “blue and black” triumphed in the initial phase of the Ecuadorian championship, which ensures their placement in the finals of the competition there and the Libertadores in 2024.

dominant team

With 59% efficiency, according to Conmebol statistics, Deportivo Pereira plans to chase another giant from South America. In their first appearance at the Copa Libertadores, the “Matecaña” team already left Colo Colo from Chile on the road.

Led by coach Alejandro Restrepo, the Colombian club became the surprise of this edition of the Libertadores.

Ahead of the second leg, the strategist emphasized that “we have to give credit” to Independiente, whom he considers “one of the teams that play the best positional game”.

“We will look to train and our players to continue to grow, but I think the way we played, with 10 shots on goal, we could have scored another goal” in the first game, Restrepo told reporters.

The match will be directed by Argentine Darío Herrera, who will be followed on the wings by his compatriots Ezequiel Brailvsky and José Savorani. (D)