Copa Libertadores preview, Week 1: São Paulo classic not the only excellent game

Copa Libertadores proper is finally here, with the group stage kicking off on Tuesday. And it starts with a bang, as a pair of Brazilian giants and local rivals get to face off. São Paulo and Corinthians have been drawn together, and they’ll each try to grab the upper hand in Group 2 on Wednesday. Their match is huge not just for the rivalry, but because their group is very competitive -- San Lorenzo and Danubio would love to see a scoreless draw.

We lost some good teams in qualifying, so pour one each out for Nacional and Cerro Porteño. Their qualifying losses have robbed us of the chance to watch wonderkids Gaston Pereiro and Sergio Diaz on South America’s biggest stage. But worry not, they’ll be coming to a European league that you get on television soon enough.

As the group stage wears on, there will be some days that don’t have any football worth watching, but that’s not the case during Copa Lib’s opening week. There are totally decent games in every timeslot, so you can probably catch seven matches without getting bored.

There’s a lot to digest here -- 13 games in three days! -- so here are the biggest stories.

It’s not rare to see a pair of good Brazilian or Argentinian sides drawn in a group together, but this is the first proper derby in the group stage since Mexican teams were introduced into the tournament in 2000.

Sao Paulo are arguably the strongest contender from Brazil, even if they lost Kaka to MLS -- they did well to replace him with 22-year-old Argentine Adrian Centurion. They have a collection of players you’ll recognize from being good in Europe a long time ago or flaming out on that continent, plus a solid collection of youngsters. Corinthians, meanwhile, have arguably the best young player in this tournament in 17-year-old attacker Malcom. They’ve also had the benefit of playing competitive matches more recently -- they bulldozed Once Caldas in qualifying. Corinthians won their most recent tough Paulista match, away to Palmeiras, while São Paulo drew Santos in theirs.

So form favors Corinthians, plus they’re at home. The Tricolor might have the stronger squad, but the Timão are slight favorites on Wednesday.

We won’t know whether Club Atlas and Tigres UANL are contenders to make a deep run this week, but we might be able to write them off. They’re both at home, and they’re both hosting teams that aren’t favored to get out of their groups. Atlas take on Colombian side Santa Fe, while Tigres play host to Juan Aurich from Peru.

Given the tough games they have coming up, it’s crucial for both to snatch wins. Atlas go away to Brazilian giants Atletico Mineiro next week, and the travel involved there means a loss is extremely likely. Tigres are fortunate that they have next week off, but their next match is just as bad as Atlas’ second fixture -- they go away to River Plate, one of the tournament favorites.

In our tournament preview, we identified Atlético Nacional and Universidad de Chile as the clubs outside Brazil and Argentina with the best chance of becoming surprise winners of the tournament. And in Week 1, we should find something out about both teams.

La U are favorites at home against Emelec, but the Ecuadorian side should give them a very solid challenge. Atlético Nacional have a tougher match, away to Libertad of Paraguay. The Colombians can probably take a loss and feel OK about their chances of getting out of the group, but La U really need a win to be taken seriously as contenders.

If you’re trying to watch these teams this week, you’re shoot out of luck:

Group 3

Universitario
Cruzeiro
Huracan
Mineros de Guayana

Group 7

Estudiantes la Plata
Barcelona

Here’s what you should be watching on each day, besides the São Paulo classic.

The Strongest vs. Internacional - Going to Bolivia always sucks, for everyone. It’s not rare to see The Strongest take somewhere between five and seven points from their home matches, then get bulldozed on the road. The Strongest did really well to get by Monarcas Morelia in qualifying, so don’t be shocked if they “upset” the big Brazilian side on Tuesday.

Palestino vs. Boca Juniors - This game might mark the debut of Pablo Dani Osvaldo, the Italian-Argentinian forward who just signed for Boca on loan from Southampton. Boca also picked up Nicolas Lodeiro in the transfer window and won their opening game in the Argentine Primera, 3-1 over Olimpio. Palestino are a bit of an unknown quantity at this level, but they beat a good Nacional team to qualify, so they’re probably not going to be pushovers on Wednesday.

Danubio vs. San Lorenzo - Defending champions San Lorenzo and Uruguayan champs Danubio are the two underdogs in Group 2, behind São Paulo and Corinthians, but if either team can get three points from this one, they’ll feel good about their chances to snatch a knockout stage place. Danubio needed to beat Montevideo Wanderers in a one-off match to force a two-legged final in Uruguay last season, did it, then won the final on penalties. They looked tough in overcoming a big disadvantage to grab that title, but they’ve lost their best player, Camilo Mayada, to River Plate since then. We’ll find out on Thursday if they can compete on the highest level without him.

Universidad de Chile vs. Emelec - Tuesday, 5:15 p.m., FOX Deportes
Montevideo Wanderers vs. Zamora - Tuesday, 5:15 p.m.
The Strongest vs. Internacional - Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., FOX Deportes
Deportivo Tachira vs. Racing Club - Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Atlas vs. Santa Fe - Tuesday, 9:45 p.m., FOX Deportes
Guarani vs. Sporting Cristal - Wednesday, 4:45 p.m.
Palestino vs. Boca Juniors - Wednesday, 5:45 p.m., FOX Deportes
Corinthians vs. Sao Paulo - Wednesday, 7 p.m., FOX Deportes
Colo-Colo vs. Atletico Mineiro - Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Tigres UANL vs. Juan Aurich - Wednesday, 9:15 p.m., FOX Deportes
Danubio vs. San Lorenzo - Thursday, 5:45 p.m., FOX Deportes
Libertad vs. Atletico Nacional - Thursday, 5:45 p.m.
San Jose vs. River Plate - Thursday, 8 p.m., FOX Deportes