Preview: Boca Juniors vs O’Higgins – prediction, team news, schedule

Playing in their first ever Copa Sudamericana play-off game, O’Higgins will be hoping to spring a huge shock when they visit La Bombonera in Buenos Aires in the first leg of their tie with Boca Juniors.

At this stage, the Chileans finished second in Group C, just two points behind Sao Paulo, while Azul y Oro finished third in their Copa Libertadores group, knocking them out of the competition.

Game preview

The Libertadores campaign did not go as expected, but Boca Juniors will be hoping to salvage some pride in the Sudamericana this year.

Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s men have dropped points in their last three Libertadores group games, knocking them out of the competition for the first time since 2024.

The team has reached the Last 16 or beyond in their last two Sudamericana appearances, losing on penalties to Cruzeiro in that stage two years ago.

The Argentines enter the upcoming tournament having won their last two games, without conceding a goal in either of those games.

At the same time, prior to their friendly victory over Athletico Paranaense this month, they had failed to win their last three competitive games at home.

Boca has never lost a Sudamericana match against a Chilean team, but failed to beat Universidad Catolica at home in the first leg of the semi-final in 2005.

In the group stage of the competition, O’Higgins has been among the surprise stories, showing great determination while defeating experienced South American clubs.

Lucas Bovaglio’s men knocked out Colombian team Millonarios in their last group game 2-1 to progress to the knockout stages.

That was their only away win in the group stage, although they did win their last game in early July, 2-1 against Union Espanola in the Copa Chile.

O’Higgins enter the tournament on a two-game winning streak in all competitions, while they are unbeaten in four of their last five competitions.

They had a 100% record in the group stage when they scored the opening goal, doing so three times while losing both of their first-placed games.

El Capo de Provincia have never scored against an Argentine side, with their best result against that country coming in the 2014 Libertadores group stage when they drew 0-0 at Lanus.

Boca Juniors form (all competitions):

O’Higgins Copa Sudamericana form:

O’Higgins form (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago / NurPhoto

In this game, Boca Juniors will be without Rodrigo Battaglia, who is recovering from Achilles tendon surgery, and Agustin Marchesin is also out due to a torn muscle.

It is unlikely that Leandro Paredes will make an appearance, as a few days ago he played in the World Cup final in a game that could see him suspended for a long time due to his antics afterwards.

Lautaro Di Lollo was among the scorers in Boca Juniors’ victory in the Libertadores final, with Santiago Ascacibar and former midfielder Ander Herrera also netting in a 3-0 win over Ecuadorian side Barcelona.

On the O’Higgins side, Bryan Rabello is likely to miss out with a left hamstring injury, while Martin Sarrafiore is a doubt with a quad problem.

Francisco Gonzalez scored twice to lead the club in Sudamericana, while Bastian Yanez and Alan Robledo netted in their win against the Millionarios.

Boca Juniors are likely to start in the lineup:

Brey; Braida, Di Lollo, Pellegrino, Blanco; Palacios, Alarcon, Velasco; Aranda, Gimenez, Zeballos

O’Higgins who could start the program:

Carabali; Faundez, Robledo, Brizuela, Diaz; Leiva, Ogaz; Gonzalez, Maturana, Yanez; Vecino

We say: Boca Juniors 3-0 O’Higgins

La Bombonera’s intimidating form and a team in poor form since their early Libertadores exit may be too much for the Chileans to handle beyond 90 minutes.

For data analysis of the most likely results, score lines and more for this game please click here.