Sao Paulo vs Talleres de Cordoba Prediction: Luciano to repeat feat in Brazil

The battle for top spot in Copa Libertadores Group B takes place at the Estadio Do MorumBIS on Thursday (KO, 01:30), as second-placed Sao Paulo host leaders Talleres de Cordoba. The Argentinians are three points clear of their Brazilian counterparts but victory for the Tricolor Paulista would see them leapfrog their opponents on goal difference.

Read below for my Sao Paulo vs Talleres de Cordoba prediction and all the latest team news and match odds.

Sao Paulo are unbeaten at home so far in Group B having triumphed 2-0 against Chilean side Cobresal on April 11 and drawn 0-0 with Ecuadorian outfit Barcelona SC over a month later. They've also won their last two away games in the competition, beating the aforementioned teams 3-1 and 2-0 in Chile and Ecuador respectively, but their first match of the group stage saw them lose 2-1 to Talleres de Cordoba in Argentina.

Ramiro Ruiz and Ruben Botta struck in either half to give Walter Ribonetto's side a two-goal advantage in Cordoba before Luciano struck what turned out to be a consolation effort in the 66th minute.

It's been pretty plain sailing for Talleres de Cordoba since that April 5 meeting as they subsequently drew 2-2 with Barcelona in Ecuador before beating Cobresal (A) 2-0 and 1-0 (H) either side of a 3-1 victory over Barcelona in Argentina.

Both Talleres de Cordoba and Sao Paulo are guaranteed to play in the knockouts of the Libertadores, but top spot is still up for grabs.

Team News

Wellington Rato hasn't played for Sao Paulo since their defeat to Talleres de Cordoba on April 5, and the 31-year-old will miss out again through injury on Thursday.

Jonathan Calleri, the Brazilian side's top scorer in the group stage with three goals, is also a doubt after missing his side's last three matches.

The visitors are without an injured player of their own as Matias Catalan prepares to miss a fourth consecutive match.

Sao Paulo vs Talleres de Cordoba Odds

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Sao Paulo are 3/5 to get the victory they need to finish first, giving them an implied win probability of 62.5%, while Talleres de Cordoba are 4/1, or a 20% chance, to win away for the second time in the group stage.

The draw can be backed at 5/2, both teams to score at 1/1, and over 2.5 goals at 1/1.

Luciano (L Neves) anytime goalscorer @ 6/4

With Calleri a doubt, it's likely that Luciano will shoulder much of the attacking responsibility on Thursday. Former Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur winger Lucas Moura is another option to consider in this market at 11/5, but the 31-year-old only recently returned from 10 matches out injured and may not be risked from the start against the Argentinian side.

Luciano has already found the net twice in the Libertadores group stage, scoring away to both Talleres de Cordoba and Cobresal, and he has three in six in the league.

With Sao Paulo at home and needing to win to finish top, I expect them to be on top from the start at the Estadio Do MorumBIS, with Luciano leading the charge.

Highest scoring half - second half @ 23/20

Sao Paulo may be applying pressure from the off on Thursday, but it wouldn't surprise me to see the visitors hold firm and look to chance their arm in the second half.

There was little goalmouth action in the first half of last month's reverse fixture, with Ruiz only netting the opener for the hosts in the sixth minute of added time.

Botta and Luciano then struck in the second half to see this selection land in Cordoba, and the second half was also the highest-scoring half in Sao Paulo's first home game against Cobresal as Andre Silva and Calleri bagged late on to secure a 2-0 victory for the Brazilians.

This selection also landed in Talleres de Cordoba's 1-0 win over Cobresal on May 14.

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