Comments and predictions for River Plate vs Universitario: Home team stumbles

Latest River Plate vs Universitario team information

River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo is likely to rotate his squad as he is already assured of top spot in the table and has just suffered a defeat in the domestic league. Miguel Borja and Manuel Lanzini could start.

However, River are still without a number of key players due to injury, including Maximiliano Meza, Matias Rojas, Pity Martinez and Gonzalo Montiel. Up front, striker Sebastian Driussi – who scored three goals in the Copa Libertadores – remains the main striker, supported by the young talent that the Premier League is closely watching: Franco Mastantuono.

On the Universitario side, no player has scored more than 1 goal in the tournament. Edison Flores – who scored against Allianza Lima last weekend – will continue to play alongside Alex Valera in attack.

In their bid to retain second place, Universitario will be without Jose Rivera and veteran Horacio Calcaterra (injured), while captain Aldo Corzo remains doubtful.

River Plate vs Universitario latest expected lineup

River Plate:
Armani; Bustos, Pezzella, Martinez Quarta, Acuna; Fernandez, Perez, Lanzini; Mastantuono, Driussi, Colidio

University:
Britos; Polo, Corzo, Riveros, Di Benedetto, Inga; Concha, Urena, Carabali; Valera, Flores

Latest football commentary River Plate vs Universitario

River Plate – four-time South American champions – are aiming for their first Copa Libertadores title since 2018, and they have been impressive in this year's group stage, remaining unbeaten in five matches.

In the most recent match, River came from behind and thrashed Independiente del Valle 6-2 at home, after their opponents were down a man at the end of the first half. Five different players scored, helping coach Marcelo Gallardo's team climb to 11 points and officially take the top spot in Group B with one match to spare.

However, they were then unexpectedly eliminated from the Argentine Primera Division play-off round on Wednesday, ending their Apertura title ambitions despite Boca Juniors and Racing Club both dropping out.

River were held to a 1-1 draw by Platense thanks to a 112th-minute penalty by 17-year-old Franco Mastantuono, but then lost 2-4 on penalties, despite Mastantuono continuing to successfully convert his shot.

However, this defeat was their first since March. In their last 6 matches in all competitions, River have won 5, scoring 19 goals – enough form for them to confidently repeat their victory over Universitario in the first leg in April.

As for Universitario, the last meeting between the two teams in Lima saw Paulo Diaz score the only goal, taking River's record to 3 wins in 4 encounters in the Libertadores since the shock home defeat to La U in 1967.

Under the guidance of coach Jorge Fossati, Universitario has won 7 points from the remaining 4 matches, thereby taking the decision before the final round. They are 1 point ahead of Independiente in the race for second place in the group - a place in the knock-out round.

A 1-0 win over Barcelona SC, thanks to a crucial strike from Alex Valera, gave the Peruvian side a boost ahead of their trip to Buenos Aires. Since then, Universitario have won 2-0 at Sporting Cristal and lost 2-0 at Juan Pablo II in the domestic league – keeping them level with Allianza Lima in the Apertura title race.

Latest River Plate vs Universitario score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.River Plate vs Universityas follows:

• Sportsmole:River Plate 2-1 University

• WhoScore:River Plate 1-1 University
• Our newspaper predicts:River Plate 1-1 University

When and where to watch River Plate vs Universitario live?

To watch the live match River Plate vs Universitario in the Copa Libertadores tournament taking place at 7:30 on May 28, viewers can watch it on online sports channels. Wishing viewers happy moments of watching football.