Botafogo vs Racing Club Prediction: Booking for Baltasar in another card-heavy contest

Arguably the biggest game of the Copa Sudamericana group stage this week comes from Rio de Janeiro, where Botafogo RJ host Racing Club on Thursday (01:30 BST). The Brazilians won the reverse fixture 3-2 in Cordoba last month, and they can clinch a top-two spot in Group E with a victory over their Argentine rivals.

Below are my Botafogo vs Racing Club predictions, alongside all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this midweek meeting at Estadio Olimpico Nilton Santo.

Team News

Former Napoli and Everton midfielder Allan suffered a thigh injury in Saturday's 2-1 home defeat to Remo, and the 35-year-old has been ruled out for at least the next 12 weeks.

Kaio Pantaleao (knee), Nathan Fernandes (thigh) and Santiago Rodriguez (unspecified) are still sidelined for Franclim Carvalho's charges, while Alexander Barboza was left out of the squad on the weekend as he closes in on a move to league rivals Palmeiras and looks unlikely to play again for Fogo.

Football Odds

Elias Torres and Valentin Carboni (both knee) are out injured for Gustavo Costas' side, while Ezequiel Cannavo (muscle) is doubtful of featuring in Rio.

Botafogo vs Racing Club Odds

Botafogo are 5/4 to do the double over Racing Club, implying a 44.4% probability of success, while Racing Club are 2/1, or a 33.3% chance, with the draw offered at 11/5.

Bet Builder - Baltasar Rodriguez (RAC) Carded & Over 8.5 Total Corners @ 5/2

Racing midfielder Baltasar Rodriguez has been booked in four of his last six appearances, and the second of those yellows came against Fogo last month.

The 22-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Inter Miami alongside Lionel Messi, was booked for a foul on Fogo midfielder and fellow Argentine Cristian Medina in the 75th minute.

Medina is a master at drawing fouls, winning four in that game along, while he's averaging 1.9 fouls won per game in this season's Serie A.

I'm also backing over 8.5 corners, which has been a winning selection in the last two head-to-heads, with 19 taken in the second leg of the Recopa Sudamericana last year, and 13 in last month's Sudamericana match.

Fogo's two home games in Group E against Caracas and Independiente have produced eight and 15, respectively, while Racing's last away trip in the competition, against Caracas, saw 13 taken.

Booking Points Over/Under +57.5 - Over 57.5 @ 8/11

Fogo and Racing have met three times since the start of last year, and all three games have seen at least 60 booking points awarded.

In the first leg of last year's Recopa Sudamericana, 105 booking points were recorded, followed by 70 in the reverse fixture.

More recently, in last month's match in Cordoba, 60 booking points were produced, 30 for each side.

I'm predicting another bruising battle on Thursday in this Argentina-Brazil rivalry.

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