The Colombian team, winners of the Sudamericana in 2015, hopes to take revenge in the second leg that will be played on September 14th at the El Campín stadium in Bogotá. An away draw will be enough for the Paraguayans to confirm their place in the quarter-finals.

PROMO

Supported by historical players from the Paraguayan national team, Libertad promises to impose their authority against Independiente Santa Fe this Thursday (7:45 p.m. on Fox Sports) in Asunción, in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana round of 16.

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The game will take place at the Defensores del Chaco stadium in the Paraguayan capital.

The 'gumarelo' team, led by Spanish coach Fernando Jubero, carefully protected their players who will face the 'cardinal' to the point of being defeated 2-1 by General Diaz in the local tournament last weekend.

For that match, Jubero included mostly substitutes. Libertad has eliminated the Argentinean club Huracán with an aggregate score of 7-1, a categorical result that demonstrates the attacking spirit of their forwards, the tall Santiago Salcedo, Oscar Cardozo, and attacking midfielder Antonio Bareiro.

The squad in black and white striped jerseys is populated by 'historical' players from the Paraguayan national team such as Paulo Da Silva, Antolín Alcaraz, Salcedo, and 'tacuara' Cardozo.

Also included are the new generation players such as Antonio Bareiro and Salustiano Candia, among others.

"Change of mindset" -

The team under Jubero will have to "change their mindset and rise to the occasion", Da Silva, the defender and natural leader of the 'gumarelo' team and the national team, warned.

"We are certain that the opponent will be more complicated than the one we faced in the previous stage," he said.

"Independiente Santa Fe is a very good team, a few years ago (in 2015) they were the champions of the Sudamericana," he praised.

"The most important thing in this type of tournament is to win at home and not concede any goals, because generally away goals decide the tie," emphasized Da Silva, formerly of Mexican club Toluca.

In Independiente Santa Fe, Uruguayan coach Gregorio Pérez will now have at his disposal Jhon Pajoy and Anderson Plata, who were not registered in time for the previous phase against Ecuadorian team Fuerza Amarilla.

Also in the starting lineup will be midfielder Kevin Salazar, who did not play in the game last Saturday against Deportivo Cali in the Colombian league.

Under the management of Argentine referee Darío Herrera, assisted by his compatriots Gustavo Rossi and Iván Núñez, the probable lineups are as follows:

Libertad: Carlos Servín - Alan Benítez, Paulo Da Silva, Antolín Alcaraz, Salustiano Candia - Antonio Bareiro, Sergio Aquino, Jorge Recalde, Jesús Medina - Santiago Salcedo, and Oscar Cardozo. Coach: Fernando Jubero.

Independiente Santa Fe: Leandro Castellanos - Carlos Arboleda, William Tesillo, Javier López, Dairon Mosquera - Baldomero Perlaza, Yeison Gordillo, Juan Daniel Roa, Kevin Salazar - Jhon Pajoy, and Anderson Plata. Coach: Gregorio Pérez.