SAO PAULO, Brazil: Mexico's America and Argentina's Banfield need home victories to secure a spot in the second round of the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday.
America hosts Ecuador's El Nacional, while Banfield faces Paraguay's Libertad. Seven other matches will be played across Latin America this week, and defending champion Internacional will be among the teams trying to avoid elimination.
Libertad leads Group 1 with 10 points, one more than America and Banfield and nine more than El Nacional. But Libertad will take on Banfield in Buenos Aires, where the Argentine club won its previous two home matches.
America, which won one home match and lost another, will play winless El Nacional at its Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
Libertad, a top Group 1 for most of the competition, can advance if it holds Banfield to a draw. El Nacional is already out of contention.
Only the top two teams in each of the eight groups will reach the second round.
In Group 4, Brazil's Internacional enters its final group-stage match in a difficult position to keep alive its chances of defending its title.
In order to advance without depending on other results, Internacional needs to beat Uruguay's Nacional by a difference of three goals or more. If it doesn't, it will need to hope Ecuador's Emelec upsets Argentina's Velez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires, also on Thursday.
Internacional will play Nacional at its Beira-Rio stadium in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.
Nacional leads the group with 10 points, one more than Velez Sarsfield and two more than Internacional. Emelec is out of contention with three points.
Nacional can advance with a draw, while Velez Sarsfield needs a victory or a draw, depending on Internacional's result.
In Group 5, Brazil's Parana will need some help from local rival Flamengo, which leads the group with 13 points and has already advanced.
Parana is tied with Bolivia's Real Potosi with six points each. On Wednesday, Parana hosts Venezuela's Union Maracaibo in Curitiba, while Real Potosi plays at Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro.
Union Maracaibo has only two points and no chance of reaching the second round.
In Group 8, Argentina's Gimnasia y Esgrima and Uruguay's Defensor Sporting will face each other on Thursday in Argentina to fight for the last spot available in the group.
Gimnasia is three points behind Defensor and needs to win the match by a difference of at least four goals.
Brazil's Santos, which has already advanced in Group 8, will host eliminated Deportivo Pasto of Colombia, also on Thursday.
In the last match of the week, Brazil's Sao Paulo — last year's runner-up — will visit Peru's Alianza Lima on Thursday. A victory will leave the Brazilian club tied for first place with Chile's Audax Italiano in Group 2. There's is still one round left in the group. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/...es-Preview.ph
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