Carabobo FC host River Plate on Thursday, May 7, at the Polideportivo Misael Delgado Stadium in Valencia, Venezuela, with first broadcast coverage set for 8:20 PM ET and 5:20 PM PT on beIN SPORTS. The Matchday 4 meeting in 2026 Copa Sudamericana Group H pits the group leaders against the team in second place, with River Plate on 7 points and Carabobo on 6.
The table leaves little margin for either side. Carabobo have beaten Bragantino 1-0 and Blooming 2-0 in the tournament, and their only loss came against River Plate in Buenos Aires. River Plate opened with a draw against Blooming in Bolivia before back-to-back 1-0 victories over Carabobo and Bragantino moved them to the top of the section.
For Eduardo Coudet’s side, the trip to Venezuela arrives with momentum and a clean record in the competition so far. River Plate are unbeaten, and since Coudet arrived in March 2026, the club has lost only one official match. He also chose to rest Gonzalo Montiel, Marcos Acuña and Facundo Colidio for this away fixture, underlining how tightly the schedule is being managed.
What has made Group H so narrow is not just the points gap but the defensive numbers. Both teams have conceded only one goal in three matches and have kept two clean sheets each, a level of control that has turned every set piece and every mistake into a swing moment. Carabobo are also playing their final home match of the group stage before trips to Bolivia and Brazil, which makes Thursday’s result especially important in the race for direct qualification to the Round of 16.
The return meeting now looks like a test of whether Carabobo can turn home pressure into revenge, or whether River Plate can leave Valencia still setting the pace in a group that has remained tight from the start.