Flamengo vs Velez Sarsfield Prediction: Betting on Mengao to win

In the second leg of the semi-final, Flamengo will face Velez Sarsfield. The first match between these teams ended with a score of 4:0 in favor of the Brazilians. That means that Velez has almost no chance of making it to the final of South America's most prestigious tournament.

In addition to the Libertadores Cup, the Red and Blacks are fighting for the Brazilian Cup title and trying to compete with Palmeiras in the national championship. After a 4:0 win in Argentina, it's evident that the coaching staff won't field all their strongest men in the return leg. Even the score of 0:3 at the Maracana will qualify Mengao for the Libertadores Cup final. They have an away game against Goiás. Then they host São Paulo in the return semi-final of the Brazilian Cup and have a derby against Fluminense, their direct Serie A rival.

The Argentines have little to offer Flamengo at the moment. Velez's last win was back on August 11 against Talleres, and since then, in addition to the defeat by Mengao, there have been three draws in the Argentinian league and two losses by Aldosivi and NOB. Velez sits just 27th, penultimate place in the Argentinian league table. We doubt Velez has a realistic chance of winning in Rio, even with a minimum score.

There is a feeling that Flamengo won't field their strongest squad for the return leg. Flamengo has a very busy and challenging schedule ahead, and the team from Rio has a chance to score a hat-trick, especially against Palmeiras, and they need to save their strength to do so. For their part, Velez Sarsfield will be unable to be creative, and the Argentinians will need to prevent themselves from losing dramatically.

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