Barcelona considers today's match against Macará as a 'revenge'. The Ambato team not only did not succumb in their two visits to the Monumental stadium last year, but also prevented the canaries from accessing the current edition of the Copa Libertadores with a historic triumph in the last match of the 2017 national tournament.
"We know what Macará means", expressed the yellow side's Beder Caicedo, who did not overlook that the celestial team achieved a draw (1-1) and a victory (0-1) in their last presentations at the port stage.
Precisely, the last victory 'condemned' Barcelona to obtain a place in the Copa Sudamericana, in favor of the Ambato team, who qualified for the Libertadores for the first time in their history.
"It will be a complicated match. Macará already complicated us last year, but we must be focused and calm to do things well," said Caicedo, who is now under the orders of coach Guillermo Almada after recovering from an injury.
In this context, Caicedo highlighted the offensive individualities of the current rival, who currently occupies the sixth place in the standings: "They have fast players on the wings and also (Juan Manuel) Tévez, a very, very important man in the attack. We have to minimize the chances of them receiving crosses."
The toreros will also seek to consolidate their leadership in the tournament and extend their unbeaten streak with a victory that also motivates them for the Clásico del Astillero next weekend.
"We know that we have to win all the home matches," said Caicedo.
On the other hand, coach Paúl Vélez will not be able to count on defender Galo Corozo, who could not recover from a previous injury. Armando Gómez will replace the defender.
For Guaytambo Moisés Corozo, on the other hand, "it is not impossible to get a good result against Barcelona."
How to achieve it? "Just like we did last year, but that doesn't mean we should be overconfident," he says.
Barcelona
Banguera; Velasco, Aimar, L. Caicedo, Pineida; Marques, Oyola; Esterilla, E. Castillo, M. Caicedo; Dinenno.
DT: Guillermo Almada.
Macará
Pabón; Gómez, Miers, M. Corozo, Quiñónez; De Jesús, Feraud, Champang, Arboleda, Acosta; Tévez.
DT: Paúl Vélez
Referee: Guillermo Guerrero.
Time: 17:00.
Stadium: Monumental, Guayaquil.
Telecast: GolTV (D)