Cerro Porteño host Palmeiras on Wednesday in the second leg of their Copa Libertadores Round of 16 tie, with the series level after a 1-1 draw in Sao Paulo. The winner goes to the quarterfinals, and if the match ends level again, penalties will settle it at Estadio ueno La Nueva Olla.
The return leg kicks off at 6:00 PM ET, or 7:00 PM local time in Paraguay, and will be shown in the United States on beIN SPORTS, with streaming on beIN SPORTS CONNECT and Fubo. That makes the match a simple proposition for both clubs: survive 90 minutes and keep moving, or leave the competition there.
Palmeiras have already felt Cerro Porteño’s edge in this competition. Cerro beat them 1-0 at Allianz Parque during the group stage and also drew 1-1 with them at La Nueva Olla earlier in the tournament, so the tie is not arriving in a vacuum. It is their 19th meeting, and Palmeiras still lead the overall series, but the recent pattern has been far less comfortable than that record suggests.
Andreas Pereira’s suspension sharpens the problem for Palmeiras. He was sent off in the opening match and will miss the return leg, a real blow given that he has 10 assists this season. In a tie this tight, losing a creator matters almost as much as conceding an away goal would have in another era, except this one will not reward that kind of math if the scores stay level.
Cerro Porteño are listed in a 4-1-4-1 and Palmeiras in a 4-2-3-1, but the bigger issue is what happens if neither side can find separation. With the first leg finished 1-1 after Flaco Lopez put Palmeiras ahead and Carlos Miguel’s own goal brought Cerro level late, the second leg is built for one clean finish or a shootout. Cerro have already shown they can make Palmeiras work in both Brazil and Paraguay, and now they get the return leg at home with a quarterfinal place waiting for the team that holds its nerve.
