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Things are heating up in the most important club competition in South American soccer. The Round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores gets underway this week with the first leg of matches taking place Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. At this stage, just about every team will that it has a chance to win it all. Let’s take a closer look at the eight matchups on tap for this week so you can make your bets against their Copa Libertadores odds.
Copa Libertadores Playoffs Games | Soccer Betting
Millonarios vs Fluminense
Historically, Fluminense is the better team, although they are coming off a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Brazilian domestic league last season. That explains why the betting odds for the first leg are close to even. Millonarios plays in the Colombian league, which is a little less prestigious. But their confidence should be high after a second-place finish last season.
Audax Italiano vs Estudiantes
Tensions figure to be high in this match between Audax Italiano of Chile and Estudiantes of Argentina. The latter is the favorite despite being on the road for the first leg this week. But going on the road in this competition won’t be easy, giving Audax a chance to get a positive result in the first leg and set things up for an interesting second leg next week.
Bolivar vs Universidad Católica
Club Bolivar was impressive in the First Stage of this competition, beating Deportivo Lara 4-0 in the second leg for a 7-2 aggregate win. It was enough to make them a heavy favorite with a -178 moneyline in the first leg against Universidad Catolica. After knocking off the fourth-place team in Ecuador last week, Bolivar should be able to handle the third-place team from Ecuador this week.
America Mineiro vs Guarani
Club Guarani will be excited to be in this competition after finishing second in the Chilean domestic league last season. But they are heavy underdogs with a +416 moneyline on the road against Mineiro. However, the Brazilian side is coming off a modest season in their domestic league, so they may not be as much of a guarantee as their -163 moneyline indicates.
Barcelona vs Universitario
This isn’t the same Barcelona from Spain; it’s a club from Ecuador that only finished fourth in its domestic league last season. However, they might be the most likely team to advance to the next stage, entering the first leg this week as -227 favorites. However, they will have to take care of business against a Chilean club that has nothing to lose.
Plaza Colonia vs The Strongest
Don’t let the name fool you, the Bolivian club called The Strongest is very much the underdog in this match. They will have their work cut out for them against Plaza Colonia, which is the only team from Uruguay left in the competition but is heavily favored to advance with a -131 moneyline for the first leg.
Everton vs Monagas
Mongas is the only team in the Round of 16 representing Venezuela, although they may not be in this competition for long with a moneyline for the first leg that’s close to +500. Of course, Everton doesn’t have the best history in this competition, so they should be feeling the pressure of being the favorite in this competition.
Olimpia vs Atletico Nacional
Olimpia took care of business in the previous stage, which should give them confidence heading into the Round of 16. They are also favored in the first leg against Colombian side Atletico Nacional, which lifted the trophy of this competition in 2016. This matchup is close to a toss-up, so don’t count out Atletico Nacional from getting a result on the road in the first leg.