Boca arrives in Asunción on Tuesday with a 3-1 cushion and one clear task: finish the job against Recoleta FC and book a place in the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals. The return leg of the round of 16 starts at 19.00 in the Defensores del Chaco, with Andrés Matonte set to referee and the match to be shown live on.
For Boca, the math is simple. Because the tie is decided on aggregate over two legs, any result that leaves it ahead after the second match sends it through, while Recoleta needs to overturn the two-goal deficit created in the first meeting. That first leg was played the previous Tuesday and ended 3-1 for Boca at the Tomás Adolfo Ducó, which is why the trip to Paraguay has become a search for a finishing touch rather than a rescue mission.
The focus is on Leandro Paredes, who did not travel because of inflammation in his left hamstring. He is one of three players left out after muscle injuries, alongside Leandro Lozano and Marco Pellegrino, a list that trims Boca’s options even as the tie leans its way. TyC Sports summed up the mood around the fixture by noting that the Xeneize is visiting the Paraguayan side in the return leg of the round of 16 after the 3-1 win in the opener.
There is a twist to the setting: Recoleta will be the home side at the Defensores del Chaco, but the crowd is expected to be overwhelmingly in Boca’s favor, with 20,000 Boca fans and 2,000 from Recoleta. That imbalance should make the stadium feel less like a neutral stage and more like another Boca occasion, even if the scoreboard pressure sits on the visitors’ shoulders.
Both teams come in with uneven domestic form. Recoleta lost 2-1 at home to 2 de Mayo in the fifth round of the Paraguayan Clausura, while Boca drew 1-1 with Platense in the fifth round of the Clausura. The wider picture is still the same: Boca controls the tie, and the winner will move on to face the winner of San Pablo - Bolívar in the quarterfinals.
That leaves Boca with a night built around control, not drama. Recoleta needs a comeback; Boca needs only to avoid one. In a match played on an away ground packed with its own supporters, the result should be decided less by atmosphere than by whether Boca can protect the lead it already earned.
