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Barcelona SC and Sao Paulo, Driven by Urgency for Points in Libertadores
Both teams in Group B of the Copa Libertadores are aiming to snag points to "lock in" their spot for the next round.
Tomorrow, Thursday, Barcelona from Ecuador and Sao Paulo from Brazil will hit the field with an urgent need to win on the third matchday of Group B in the Copa Libertadores. They aim to ease the crises they're facing and to keep their chances alive in the tournament.
👉 Don't miss Barcelona SC vs Sao Paulo in Copa Libertadores on Thursday, April 25, starting at 7:55 PM ET, live and exclusively on beIN SPORTS
Barcelona lost their coach, Uruguayan Diego López, last Friday, and Argentine Ariel Holan will step in on Monday. Currently, they're sitting with just two points in the tournament. Under López's guidance in the Libertadores, the team drew 1-1 against Cobresal in Chile and 2-2 against Talleres de Córdoba in Argentina, which diminished the board's confidence in him.
Sao Paulo, with three points, also parted ways with coach Thiago Carpini last Thursday after three months in charge, replacing him with Argentine Luis Zubeldía on Monday. Zubeldía made history in Ecuador in 2023, clinching the Liga Pro title and the Copa Sudamericana with Liga de Quito. The coach will face his former team, Barcelona, whom he managed from June 2011 to April 2012.
In the Ecuadorian Liga Pro, under López's leadership, Barcelona finished sixth with 14 points, six behind leaders Aucas, but with postponedmatches against Universidad Católica and Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito. Therefore, Argentine Germán Corengia, hired this year as the club's Sporting Director, will serve as interim coach in tomorrow's match.
Corengia will miss the team's top scorer, Argentine Francisco Fydriszewski, and in his place, youth player Allen Obando will step in.
Meanwhile, Carpini failed to meet Sao Paulo's expectations, with losses in this year's Brazilian tournament against Fortaleza (1-2) and Flamengo (1-2), but they bounced back in the recent fixture with a 3-0 victory over
Atlético Goianiense.
In the Libertadores, Sao Paulo lost 2-1 to Talleres de Córdoba in the first match and won 2-0 against Cobresal at home. Zubeldía, passionate about working with a three-man defense, will have a familiar face in the team, Ecuadorian Robert Arboleda, and will also count on Venezuelan Nahuel Ferraresi and Brazilian Diego.
Known as "El Príncipe," Zubeldía will reunite with his compatriots Alan Franco, Giuliano Galoppo, and Jonathan Calleri at Internacional.
