Flamengo vs Tolima – Deportes Tolima, Colombia’s final Copa Libertadores hope, face Flamengo on Wednesday night in the Maracana needing a win.
The 2021 runners-up in this tournament blanked Deportes 1-0 in the first leg of their round-of-16 encounter last week, ending their nine-match unbeaten run across all competitions.
Flamengo manager Dorival Junior was well aware when he took over from outgoing leader Paulo Sousa that he would inherit a difficult situation, as his team’s erratic play over the past seven games has demonstrated.
With three defeats from their first four games, they are yet to score more than one goal in the final third of games under his leadership. There appears to be some stability under Junior amid the turmoil, as he has consistently used a back four, three midfielders, and a few alterations up front in each of the team’s games.
Since a result, they appear to have played with a lot less confusion than we witnessed under Sousa, as the previous Portuguese manager frequently changed up his tactics at the drop of a hat.
In the first leg of this knockout round, Mengao looked far from convincing despite going ahead in the 17th minute, as they were on their heels for much of the opening half.
Tolima was only saved by some bad finishing in Rio’s last game despite not conceding against them. Rio was an easy target down the center. Although they haven’t lost a round of 16 match since 2018, one thing about this team you can always bank on is their ability to withstand the pressure.
The defending Colombian champions only lost one of their group matches at this year’s Copa Libertadores, finishing level on points with reigning Brazilian winners Atletico Mineiro.
As manager Hernan Torres has emphasized, his players have taken his advice to heart, regularly defending the open parts of the field and plugging gaps in between the lines.
Flamengo vs Tolima – Betting Analysis
To this point in the 2022 competition, their strong team effort has helped them advance and put them in a position to proceed into the quarterfinals.
Against Galo in their final group match, they came back from a goal down to earn a point, scoring four minutes after conceding the equalizer to earn three points. They’ve done this twice so far in the 2022 Libertadores.
With their best-ever finish being a semi-final appearance back in 1982, the Colombians had never participated in a knockout-stage match in this competition before this weekend, which was their first appearance in a knockout-stage match.
El Vinotinto y Oro only lost to Brazilian teams in the Libertadores twice, but they don’t have to look far for inspiration if they want to pull off a major shock like this one.
To advance to the next round, Deportes needed a win at Minerao on matchday six, and they got it in the 92nd minute. Independiente del Valle had a better goal difference, so a draw in that match would have knocked them down to third place.
Flamengo vs Tolima – Head -to- Head
Our Prediction: Home Win
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