Sport Huancayo v Nacional Betting Tips [7 February 2023]

Sport Huancayo of Peru and Club Nacional of Paraguay will go head-to-head for the first time in the first qualifying round of the 2023 Copa Libertadores. The first-leg tie will be played on Wednesday in Peru while the return leg will be played a week later. Huancayo is appearing at only its second Copa Libertadores competition. The team qualified for the South American continental showpiece for the first time in 2012. They will be hoping this year’s tournament sees them make it through to the second round for the first time. Anti-government clashes in Peru have forced sporting activities in the country to be suspended for the past two months. The Primera Division that was supposed to kickoff in early January will start on Friday with Huancayo playing the first match of the new season and their first of the year against newly promoted Cusco FC.

Club Nacional’s greatest achievement in continental football was reaching the Copa Libertadores final in 2014. They however lost to Argentina’s San Lorenzo. Since then, they have only qualified for the Copa Libertadores once, in 2019 where they exited in the first round of qualifying. In total they have played in the tournament eight times and have made the group stage on four occasions. This year they have played just one game and ended up 3-1 winners away to Guairena in their domestic league. Cristhian Ocampos scored twice in the game. Progressing from this round for either Huancayo or Nacional will set up a two-legged tie in the second round against 20-time Peruvian champions Sporting Cristal.

It is open for analysis how Huancayo’s inactivity will affect them against Nacional. The Peruvian side hasn’t played a match in 2023 and also has not played continental football in two years. Nacional will be plagued by the same issues of inactivity as well but their advantage is that they have a winning record in 2023 (one game played) and have also played more frequently in CONMEBOL club competitions. Our prediction for Sport Huancayo v Club Nacional is for Nacional to win.