Cerro Porteno vs Atletico Paranaense Prediction and Betting Tips | July 18th 2024

The action resumes in the Copa Sudamericana as Cerro Porteno play host to Atletico Paranaense in the first leg of the knockout-stage playoff on Thursday. This will be the first meeting between the two sides since June 2019, when the Serie A outfit picked up a 2-0 friendly victory.

Cerro Porteno endured a forgettable run in the Copa Libertadores as they crashed out in the group stages after finishing third in Group A with six points from six matches.

Manolo Jimenez’s side secured a second-placed finish in the Paraguayan Apertura table last season as they picked up 45 points from their 22 matches.

Cerro Porteno head into Thursday’s game off the back of a 2-0 friendly victory over Scottish outfit Kilmarnock at the Marbella Football Center on June 29.

Atletico Paranaense, on the other hand, cruised to a 3-0 second-leg victory over Ypiranga last time out to secure a 4-2 aggregate victory over the Serie C side in the Copa do Brasil third-round clash.

Martin Varini's men now turn their attention to the Copa Sudamericana, where they picked up 12 points from six games to finish as runners-up in Group E, just one point off group winners Sportivo Ameliano.

Back home, Paranaense have enjoyed a decent campaign in Serie A as they sit eighth in the table with 25 points from 16 games so far.

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Cerro Porteno vs Atletico Paranaense Head-To-Head and Key Numbers

• Cerro Porteno hold a slight upper hand in the history of this fixture, having won two of the last three meetings between the sides.
• Atletico Paranaense's only win against Cerro Porteno came in June 2019, when they beat the Paraguayan side 2-0 in a friendly courtesy of goals from Fernando Amorebieta and Joaquín Larrivey.
• Cerro Porteno are unbeaten in six of their last seven home games across all competitions, claiming five wins and one draw since May.
• Paranaense boast a 100% record away from home in the Copa Sudamericana this season, winning their three matches while scoring 10 goals and conceding twice.

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Cerro Porteno vs Atletico Paranaense Prediction

Cerro Porteno have been rock-solid at home in recent weeks but will have to show their mettle against a Paranaense side who have won their three Sudamericana away matches this season.

Both sides are evenly matched on paper and we predict they will cancel out each other’s efforts.

Prediction: Cerro Porteno 1-1 Atletico Paranaense

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Cerro Porteno vs Atletico Paranaense Betting Tips

Tip 1: Result - Draw

Tip 2: Over 2.5 goals - No (There have been fewer than three goals scored in four of Cerro Porteno’s last five matches)

Tip 3: Over 4.5 cards - No (There have also been fewer than five bookings in five of the hosts' last six games)