Cruzeiro finished as the leader and undefeated in Group B, in a campaign in which it only managed to secure a direct ticket to the round of 16 on the last date with a victory over another Ecuadorian team, Universidad Católica.
Now, Boca and Cruzeiro will expand a rich history, which has as its greatest precedent the 1977 Libertadores final, won on penalties by the Xeneizes in Montevideo in a third playoff match after two intense clashes.
The Argentines also won the final of the 1992 Master Cup, the 1997 Super Cup and the qualifiers of the 2008 and 2018 Libertadores Cups, while the Belo Horizonte team only defeated the Argentines in the quarterfinals of the 1996 Super Cup.
Boca arrives at this match in the middle of the table of the Professional League, with a modest record of just three wins in ten games, while last Saturday they saved a critical point by tying the modest Independiente Rivadavia (1-1) with a goal in the fifth minute of added time.
On the visiting side, Cruzeiro is in sixth place in the Brasileirao, 7 points behind the leader Botafogo, and comes from a goalless draw in the Belo Horizonte derby with Atlético Mineiro.
For this stage of the South American, the Brazilian team added goalkeeper Cássio as reinforcements, in addition to Matheus Henrique, Walace, Kaio Jorge and Lautaro Díaz, while defender Jonathan Jesús and midfielder Fabrizio Peralta were left out, since only five changes were allowed in the previous list.
The first leg will be played at La Bombonera and will be refereed by Venezuelan Jesús Valenzuela.
The second leg will be played on Thursday 22nd at the Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, and the winner of this tie will face in the quarterfinals the winner of the series between Libertad of Paraguay and Sportivo Ameliano of Paraguay.
Athlético Paranaense and Belgrano de Córdoba will face each other for the first time in an official match in Curitiba, with the Brazilian team being the favorite, seeking its third title in the tournament.
The match will be played at the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba and will be refereed by Bolivian Gery Vargas.
Meanwhile, Flamengo, one of the main candidates to win the Libertadores, is entering the final stretch to seek its fourth title by hosting Bolívar de La Paz at the Maracaná.
Both teams meet again after having done so in the group stage: in Bolivia, Bolívar won 2-1, while in Brazil, Flamengo won 4-0. The Bolivians finished first in the group, and the Brazilians, second, three points behind.
The match will be played at the Maracaná stadium in Rio de Janeiro and will be refereed by Colombian Wilmar Roldán.
Uruguay’s Nacional and Brazil’s Sao Paulo will also meet in Montevideo in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores round of 16, a major challenge for the host team.
Bolso will host the Tricolor from São Paulo at the Gran Parque Central Stadium in the Uruguayan capital, which has already announced sold-out tickets for its 38,000-seat capacity.
Sao Paulo, with three Libertadores Cups under its belt like its rival, arrives as the favourite after finishing first in Group B of the qualifying phase of the tournament, with 13 points, compared to 10 points for Nacional, who finished second in Group H.