Junior and Millonarios will face each other this Saturday in the highlight of the first day of Group A of the Colombian semi-finals, in which Deportivo Pereira and Atlético Bucaramanga will also play.
The main match will be played at the stadium Metropolitan of Barranquillato which both teams arrive with an eye on the key duels of Libertadores Cup that will be played next week.
The shark team, led by Arturo Reyes, will have as its main loss the winger Déiber Caicedo, who is recovering from an injury, and the center back Rafael Pérez will not be there either, who has been out for almost the entire semester due to a fractured tibia and fibula.
🔥🦈 WITH JUNIOR IT’S UNTIL THE END!#VamosJunior🔴⚪️🔵 pic.twitter.com/GNRsrY3dKY
— Junior FC (@JuniorClubSA) May 3, 2024
The attacker is expected to be replaced by the Venezuelan midfielder Luis ‘Cariaco’ González, who will accompany the scorer in attack Carlos Bacca, winger José Enamorado and midfielder Yimmi Chará.
The Uruguayan goalkeeper Santiago Mele, the Argentine center back Emanuel Olivera and the winger Gabriel Fuentes will also appear in the starting eleven.
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Junior qualified for the home runs on the last day of the regular phase by drawing 0-0 at the home of Deportivo Cali, reaching 29 points and finishing in seventh place in the table.
Millonarios, meanwhile, has just beaten Boyacá Chicó 3-0 to qualify, reaching 31 points and finishing in sixth place.
⚡️⚽️💙🔥 pic.twitter.com/XBuMnhJjJM
— Millonarios FC (@MillosFCoficial) May 2, 2024
However, coach Alberto Gamero is worried because this week it was confirmed that two of his figures, the midfielders David Silva and Daniel Catañohome runs will be lost due to injury, so the creation of the team will be in the hands of young Daniel Ruiz.
Ruiz will be accompanied in the starting lineup by striker Leonardo Castro and Argentine striker Santiago Giordana, as well as goalkeeper Alvaro Montero and the midfielders Daniel Giraldo and Larry Vásquez.
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In the group’s other duel, Atlético Bucaramangadirected by Venezuelan Rafael Dudamelwill try to ratify the good performance in the regular phase, in which it finished as leader with 38 points, against Deportivo Pereira, which was third with 34 points.
Santa Fe dreams big
The Independent Santa Fewho finished fourth in the regular phase of the tournament, will debut in Group B on Sunday at the stadium El Campin before him Sports Tolimawho will have to deal with the loss of full-back Junior Hernández who was sent off on the last day against National Athletic.
The Cardinals, led by Uruguayan Pablo Peirano, will have all their outstanding players in this match, including the veteran scorer Hugo Rodallegamidfielder Francisco Chaverra and midfielder Yilmar Velásquez.
In the other game of the group, Once Caldas, who have not won in four days, will receive La Equidad at the Palogrande stadium in Manizales.