Excitement has been building across South America this week with the approach of the the second legs of the Copa Libertadores semifinal games. Estudiantes and Cruzeiro made home advantage count with first-leg victories last week over Nacional and Gremio, respectively. But both series look far from over.
Estudiantes will be without Juan Sebastian Veron, an absence which makes its 1-0 lead even more tentative. "It's a pity Sebastian isn't playing, but we'll have to get by without him," Estudiantes forward Mauro Boselli said. "We've got to really believe we can win in Uruguay and build on what we've achieved up to now, as it's this positive attitude which has brought us to the semifinals," Nacional, meanwhile, also has a host of injured players, namely Alexander Medina, Nicolas Lodeiro and Diego Arismeni. But these players all look probable for Wednesday's game. Nacional has been impregnable at home in the Copa Libertadores, managing 13 straight games without defeat.
Brazilian side Gremio needs to overturn a 3-1 defeat suffered last week away to Cruzeiro in Belo Horizonte. The team will need its attacking trio of Souza, Maxi Lopez and Wellington Paulista to fire on all cylinders on Thursday. Cruzeiro will benefit from the return of 22-year-old midfielder Ramires, who played a crucial role in Brazil's Confederation Cup victory. But Gremio is still hopeful. "We've got a saying here: 'Where there's life there's hope.' Nothing is impossible – just ask Spain who recently lost to the United States," Gremio forward Souza said. "If we can reproduce the form we showed in the first half in Belo Horizonte, where our away goal got us right back into the game, then we can still turn this series around.