Internacional vs Rosario Central

Estádio José Pinheiro Borda is the venue as Internacional and Rosario Central go head-to-head in a crunch Copa Sudamericana playoff tie.

A narrow 1-0 defeat in the first leg in Argentina hardly rules Internacional out of this tie, yet the struggling Brazilian giants head into proceedings in dire form. Ominously for manager Roger Machado, his men haven’t won any of their last eight matches across all competitions (D3, L5), including back-to-back losses ‘to nil.’ The impending home return can’t inspire much confidence either. Internacional’s last three home outings have ended in defeat despite Machado’s team finding the back of the net on each occasion. On a rare positive note, the Brazilians’ all-time H2H record against Rosario Central is evenly balanced (W1, D1, L1), with all three encounters featuring under 2.5 goals, highlighting the potential for a tepid contest.

In the meantime, Rosario Central followed their heroic first-leg triumph with an emphatic 4-2 home league win against Sarmiento Junin to maintain a decent start to the new Liga Professional season (W2, D3, L1). However, the visitors’ recent matches have produced only a handful of goals, with four in a row featuring two or fewer before the abovementioned demolition of Sarmiento. Another ominous fact for Miguel Angel Russo’s side is their woeful form on the road. They have suffered seven defeats on ten competitive travels since the beginning of March (W1, D2), conceding multiple goals on six occasions.