River Plate vs Universitario Prediction: Home team to stumble.
The Copa Libertadores match between River Plate and Universitario will take place at 7:30 AM on May 28th. Nghe An Newspaper analyzes the teams' form, provides football commentary, and predicts the score.
Latest team news for River Plate vs Universitario
River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo is likely to rotate his squad given they have already secured top spot in the league and have just suffered a defeat in the domestic league. Miguel Borja and Manuel Lanzini could start.
However, River still lacked a number of key players due to injury, including Maximiliano Meza, Matias Rojas, Pity Martinez, and Gonzalo Montiel. Up front, striker Sebastian Driussi – who has scored 3 goals in the Copa Libertadores – remained the main goalscorer, supported by the young talent being closely monitored by the Premier League: Franco Mastantuono.
On the Universitario side, no player has scored more than one goal in the tournament. Edison Flores – who recently scored against Allianza Lima last weekend – will continue to partner Alex Valera in attack.
In an effort to maintain second place in the table, Universitario will be without Jose Rivera and veteran Horacio Calcaterra (both injured), while captain Aldo Corzo's participation remains uncertain.
Latest predicted lineups for River Plate vs Universitario
River plate:
Armani; Bustos, Pezzella, Martinez Quarta, Acuna; Fernandez, Perez, Lanzini; Mastantuono, Driussi, Colidio
Universitario:
Britos; Polo, Corzo, Riveros, Di Benedetto, Inga; Concha, Urena, Carabali; Valera, Flores
Latest football match prediction: River Plate vs Universitario
River Plate – the four-time South American champions – are aiming for their first Copa Libertadores title since 2018, and they have shown impressive form in this year's group stage, remaining unbeaten in all five matches played.
In their most recent match, River Plate staged a comeback and thrashed Independiente del Valle 6-2 at home, after their opponents were reduced to ten men at the end of the first half. Five different players scored, helping coach Marcelo Gallardo's team reach 11 points and officially secure first place in Group B with one match to spare.
However, they were then unexpectedly eliminated from the Argentine Primera Division play-offs on Wednesday, ending their ambitions of winning the Apertura phase, even though Boca Juniors and Racing Club had already been knocked 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, even though Mastantuono successfully converted his own penalty.
Nevertheless, this defeat was their first loss since March. In their last six matches across all competitions, River have won five, scoring 19 goals – a form that gives them the confidence to repeat their victory against Universitario from the first leg in April.
For Universitario, the most recent meeting between the two teams in Lima saw Paulo Diaz score the only goal, bringing River's record to 3 wins in 4 encounters in the Libertadores since their shock home defeat to La U in 1967.
Under the guidance of coach Jorge Fossati, Universitario has earned 7 points from the remaining 4 matches, thus holding their fate in their own hands before the final round. They are now just 1 point ahead of Independiente in the race for second place in the group – a spot in the knockout round.
A 1-0 victory against Barcelona SC, thanks to a crucial goal from Alex Valera, provided a strong foundation for the Peruvian team ahead of their trip to Buenos Aires. Since then, Universitario has won 2-0 against Sporting Cristal and lost 0-2 to Juan Pablo II in the domestic league – thus maintaining a two-way race with Allianza Lima for the Apertura championship.
Latest River Plate vs Universitario score prediction
Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.River Plate vs Universitarioas follows:
- Sportsmole:River Plate 2-1 Universitario
- WhoScore:River Plate 1-1 Universitario
- Our newspaper predicts:River Plate 1-1 Universitario
When and where can I watch River Plate vs Universitario live?
To watch the River Plate vs Universitario match live in the Copa Libertadores at 7:30 AM on May 28th, viewers can tune in to various online sports channels. We wish you enjoyable football viewing moments.
