Atletico Mineiro arrive at the Estadio Misael Delgado on April 9 needing a sharp response to last year’s disappointment, when they lost the 2025 Copa Sudamericana final on penalties to Atletico Lanus. Their trip to face Academia Puerto Cabello opens a group-stage assignment that Mineiro are expected to treat as a chance to reset, while the hosts are trying to show they belong at this level at last.
Puerto Cabello have reached the Copa Sudamericana for a third straight season and still have never moved beyond the group stage. They have played 17 matches in the competition, winning three, drawing three and losing 11, with 14 goals scored and 25 conceded. That record frames the task in front of Eduardo Sarago’s side, but their route into this campaign showed some resilience: they beat Monagas on penalties after a 0-0 draw in qualifying, and they now share a group with Cienciano and Juventude.
The Venezuelan side come into the game ninth in their league with 13 points from 10 matches. They are without a win in two games and have taken two victories from their last five league matches, so there is some form to lean on without much room for comfort. Edwuin Pernia remains their main attacking threat, with Robinson Flores, Jhon Marchan and Jean Castillo expected to help carry the attack. Sarago is also set to keep faith with his established starters, and Puerto Cabello have no fresh injury concerns.
Mineiro’s own year has been uneven rather than convincing. They began 2026 as Campeonato Mineiro finalists before losing to Cruzeiro, then made a difficult start to the Campeonato Brasileirao. Even so, they have won their last two matches and have three victories from their last five. Across 21 games in 2026, Mineiro have seven wins, nine draws and five defeats, scoring 31 and conceding 22. The numbers suggest a side that has not always been fluent, but has been difficult to beat.
The visitors also carry a strong record against Venezuelan opposition, going unbeaten in 14 matches with 11 wins and three draws. That history tilts the match toward Mineiro, especially with Puerto Cabello having lost three of four meetings against Brazilian clubs. The bigger concern for the visitors is their own availability, with a significant number of absentees following the international break, a complication that could test the depth behind a squad still carrying the memory of last season’s final.
For Puerto Cabello, the challenge is simple enough to state and hard to solve: survive the pressure, keep the game close and try to turn a rare home night in a continental group into something more than another near miss. Mineiro, meanwhile, have the chance to show that a painful final defeat in 2025 has not left a mark on their ambitions this time around.
