General Caballero v Sportivo Ameliano

A relegation clash in the Estadio Ka’arendy on Saturday as General Caballero look to put themselves out of danger with a second consecutive win over a side from Barrio Jara. Sportivo Ameliano know that a victory would keep them just about in touching distance of safety as they try and pull off the impossible.

The Rojo have been a mixed bag of late, two 3-0 wins in their last five but they have failed to score in those other three mentioned. The last match against Tacuary was a curious affair, as they saw two of their substitutes sent off shortly after coming onto the pitch. In the case of Ezequiel Aranda the red card came after touching the ball just once, both he and José Vera will be suspended.

Sportivo Ameliano’s fans vented their frustration at the end of the defeat to Olimpia last week, as they failed to score for the first time in 13 games. It marks a third straight match without a win but they know the upcoming three matches, including this one, are a great chance to get the points needed for safety. After this trip to the east of the country they face crisis club 12 de Octubre and then Resistencia. Elias Sarquis missed out in the previous match, but the forward

As mentioned above, Ameliano usually find the net, only failing on three occasions this season – twice against Olimpia and once against Cerro Porteño. General Caballero on the other hand have seen goals at both ends during their home games this year. In the 8 matches so far they score 1.25 goals per game on average and have conceded 1.5. With a winner hard to call given the inconsistent form of both sides, goals offer the better value.

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Cerro Porteño v Olimpia

The superclásico is always a big one in Paraguay, but even more so given their current league standings. Cerro Porteño are joint top but only two points clear of Olimpia in third place. Should El Decano win for a third straight game at La Nueva Olla they have an unlikely chance of picking up the league title having seemingly thrown away their opportunity last month.

Chiqui Arce comes into this match off the back of a tough game against Nacional who share top spot with them. Despite plenty of possession and control the azulgrana had to settle for a 0-0 draw as once again Claudio Aquino and Pachi Carrizo found it hard to play together. That is likely to be Arce’s biggest selection headache going into the game especially as Toni Galeano added much more zip and rhythm when he came on late on.

Olimpia were forced to go back to basics after failing to win in three games and losing captain Richard Ortiz to injury. They’ve won their last four games with the same formula, scoring early and defending their lead superbly as their defence hasn’t been breached in almost 400 minutes. However, central defender Mateo Gamarra will be suspended having picked up his fifth yellow of the season in the bruising win over Libertad. Luis Zárate is the most likely replacement, but Cáceres may opt for the experience of Antolin Alacaraz given the magnitude of the match.

Cerro Porteño are solid at home, their only league defeat in La Nueva Olla in 2022 was the 0-2 reverse against Olimpia back in March. They have the advantage of an extra day’s rest, a fully fit squad but there is the doubt about whether they can break down this side. Olimpia have kept four cleansheets in the five clásicos so far this year, only conceding in the 4-0 rout where they fielded a weakened side. Cerro are rightly favourites but a win is by no means guaranteed in what will surely be a tight game. Under 2.5 goals has hit in the last eight clásicos in this stadium.

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Nacional v Guaraní

Nacional played a conservative game against Cerro Porteño to nullify them and pick up an important point as they remain joint top. On Thursday night Guaraní pulled off what was a surprise 4-1 win over Sol de América, it was only the 2nd time this year they had scored four.

Pedro Sarabia left creative midfielder Carlos Arrúa on the bench for the game against Cerro Porteño a sign that he was settling for a point, but he can afford to be more courageous against a Guaraní side that concedes 1.38 goals per game on the road and only has scored four in eight matches. The standout player in that last game was Dario Rios, the Argentinian midfielder had plenty of running and can help break the lines when on the ball.

Fernando Jubero must be perplexed by his side who have struggled at times this season but put on a great display to blow Sol away. The two consecutive victories have coincided with youngster Fernando Román in the lineup who has begun to impress in the absence of other youngsters Mati Segovia and Bernardo Benítez. Defensively they continue to struggle for clean sheets, having only kept one this season against bottom of the table 12 de Octubre, but the shoots of improvement are showing. They’ve only conceded +1.5 goals once in their last seven games in all competitions, compared to three times in the four games prior to that.

Nacional’s last six games at the Arsenio Erico have been 0-0 at halftime, as they’ve tried to grind sides down and jabbed at the opposition before delivering winning blow, often through Bruera. Guaraní have only managed more than one goal once in their last nine away games in Primera, it was in a surprise 2-2 draw with Libertad. Nothing points to this match being a high scoring one.

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12 de Octubre v Guarani

Sol de América look to dust themselves off after conceding seven goals in their last two games as they receive former coach Daniel Garnero to Villa Elisa. Libertad also arrive in bad shape, no wins in three games has definitively left them out of the title race as they keep one eye on the Copa Paraguay.

Pablo Guiñazú’s last seven games, in which they’ve only picked up seven points, have been dramatic to say the least, with 3.3 goals and 1 red card on average. The team are safe from relegation and unlikely to make it to the Sudamericana so there is room for experimenting, but for the last three games he has stuck with the striker partnership of Fatecha and veteran Santiago Salcedo. They should be able to welcome back Rodrigo Rojas, suspended for the last game, the midfielder managed to pick up five yellow cards in five straight games.

Libertad have been hugely inconsistent this season, the 2-2 draw to bottom club 12 de Octubre at home arguably the worst result of the lot. Their proud unbeaten record at La Huerta had to be saved by a stoppage time Roque Santa Cruz equalizer. In theory the only thing that has really been guaranteed about this side in the Clausura are goals, they have the highest average goals per game ratio of any side in the league at 3.06 per match. That said they’ve failed to score in their last four games on the road losing 1-0 to Olimpia, Resistencia and Cerro Porteño while being thrashed 4-0 at Guaireña.

Despite the troubles on their travels it is hard to bet against Libertad outright, on paper they are much stronger than their fourth place position. You would also expect the league’s best attack to make hay against the division’s weakest defence – no team has conceded more than Sol de America and only 12 de Octubre have picked the ball out of the net more times at home.

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