- Penarol Montevideo are fourth in Copa Libertadores Group E with 2 points from 4 games, Corinthians Paulista lead the group with 10.
- Corinthians Paulista beat Penarol Montevideo 2-0 in the reverse fixture 2 weeks ago.
Tactical contrasts and pride on the line in Montevideo
The clash of styles and the head-to-head record should make Friday’s Copa Libertadores Group E matchup between Corinthians Paulista and Penarol Montevideo a classic. This Penarol Montevideo vs Corinthians Paulista preview highlights the tactical contrasts that will be on display in Montevideo.
Diego Aguirre’s Penarol Montevideo are an intense, aggressive pressing side that play at a high tempo, with their 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 base allowing them to dominate games and control the ball when they win possession. The Montevideo giants have a good balance of possession players like Diego Laxalt, who has provided 1 assist in 2 Copa Libertadores appearances, and goal-getters like Leandro Umpierrez, who has scored 3 in Penarol’s last 5, to create chances.
Corinthians Paulista’s approach could not be more different, as Fernando Diniz has instilled a patient, possession-based, positional style of play, known as ‘Dinizismo’, upon the squad. The Timao have been defensively solid when out of possession, with disciplined, compact pressing, and they have created a good flow to their play, which is more suited to controlling the rhythm of the game.
Diniz’s Corinthians are in the driver's seat
Corinthians Paulista are in much better form than Penarol Montevideo coming into this, with 2 wins and a draw from their last 3 matches, with the last game being a thrilling 3-2 victory over Sao Paulo FC in Serie A. Penarol have won one, tied two and lost two of their last 5 in all competitions. Our Penarol Montevideo vs Corinthians Paulista prediction is that Corinthians are the favorites to take the win on the road and the odds of 2.8 on an away win look good.
Both teams to score is 2.08 and over 2.5 goals is 2.56, so there looks to be a lot of value in both of those. According to the Penarol Montevideo vs Corinthians Paulista betting tips, this game is likely to have an open, attacking feel, with a lot of goals, as Penarol will want to disrupt Corinthians and create chaos, while Corinthians will want to play their game.
Penarol Montevideo’s average 1.00 goals per home game in Copa Libertadores and Corinthians Paulista have conceded an average of 0.50 goals per away game in Copa Libertadores. Rodrigo Garro has 4 assists in 4 games for Corinthians Paulista in Copa Libertadores and Matias Arezo leads Penarol with 2 goals in 4 group matches. As a final Penarol Montevideo vs Corinthians Paulista prediction, Gustavo Henrique has 3 goals in 4 Copa Libertadores games for Corinthians Paulista.
