Club Nacional vs River Plate Prediction: Uruguayans to end visitors’ 100% record

Club Nacional host River Plate at Gran Parque Central in Montevideo on Wednesday (KO, 01:00) in a potentially deciding contest in Group H of the 2024 Copa Libertadores. The Uruguayan club are currently second in the table after only failing to beat their Argentine visitors, who have won all three matches so far.

Read below for my Club Nacional vs River Plate prediction, along with all the latest team news and match odds.

Nacional opened their 2024 Copa Libertadores campaign with a 2-0 home win over Club Libertad and most recently beat Deportivo Tachira 2-1 in Montevideo. However, sandwiched between those games was a trip to Buenos Aires to face River Plate, where they suffered a 2-0 defeat.

Manchester City-bound teenager Claudio Echeverri and former Inter Milan-owned forward Facundo Colidio were scorers in that April 12 meeting, and it's been a pretty faultless start to the group by Los Millonarios, who have also won in Venezuela (2-0 v Deportivo Tachira) and Paraguay (2-1 v Libertad).

A fourth-straight victory on Wednesday would secure their place in a two-legged round of 16 tie in August, and leave them needing just a point from their last two group matches to secure top spot.

Team News

Rising Uruguayan talent Thiago Helguera will miss Wednesday's match through injury, while fellow midfielder Alexis Castro, who scored Nacional's opening goal against Deportivo Tachira last time out in the Copa Libertadores, will serve a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.

River Plate haven't played since beating Libertad in Asuncion on April 25, with Nacional playing two league games in that period.

Boss Martin Demichelis may, therefore, name an unchanged starting XI, with Echeverri in attack alongside Miguel Borja, Esequiel Barco and Pablo Solari, who found the opener at the Defensores del Chaco stadium before substitute Franco Mastantuono, supplied by former West Ham United playmaker Manuel Lanzini, struck the winner in the 80th minute.

Match Odds

Nacional are 11/4 to claim all three points on Wednesday, giving them an implied win probability of 26.7%, while River Plate can be backed at 9/10 (52.6%) to maintain their winning start in Group H.

The draw, meanwhile, is available at 11/5, and both teams to score is 5/6.

Both teams to score @ 5/6

Both teams to score failed to land in the reverse fixture between these sides last month as River Plate shut out the Nacional attack, limiting the Uruguayans to eight shots and just the one on target.

However, Alvaro Recoba's side are a different beast at Gran Parque Central, where they have scored in nine out of their last 10 matches, including their two home games in Copa Libertadores Group H.

River Plate are on a different level from that of Libertad or Deportivo Tachira, but they did concede a goal away to the former last time out and have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven away games in all competitions.

Both teams to score also landed in Nacional's last group match at home to Deportivo Tachira, and we could see a strike from either side again in Montevideo on Wednesday.

Draw @ 11/5

The statistics point to a convincing victory for River Plate in the last head-to-head, but it took until the 93rd minute for the Argentine giants to score their second and make sure of the three points.

Nacional are stubborn opponents at home, losing just one of their last 16 there, and are likely to provide a stern challenge to River Plate's 100% record in the group.

Los Millonarios haven't played for nearly two weeks now, so there is a chance there could be some rustiness on their part, and the hosts can take advantage.

Ultimately, a point would probably suit both sides in their respective missions, with River Plate aiming to top the group and Nacional looking to finish second ahead of Libertad.

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