Nacional will host Deportes Tolima at 19:00 on April 16 at the Gran Parque Central in a match that can start to define Group B of the Copa Libertadores. The game comes on the second date, after the section opened last week with two draws, and it will be shown on 2 and Disney+.
Jorge Bava is expected to turn back to his strongest side after rotating heavily in Nacional’s 4-2 loss to Deportivo Maldonado on the previous Saturday. He made eight changes from the team that drew 1-1 with Coquimbo Unido, but this time Luis Mejía is expected to return in goal after the muscle tear he suffered on March 27 in a Panama national team friendly. Sebastián Coates and Agustín Rogel are also expected to come back to the back line, with Paolo Calione set to stay in a three-man defense. Baltasar Barcia and Nicolás Rodríguez would work as wingbacks, Luciano Boggio and Lucas Rodríguez as the central midfield pair, and Nicolás Lodeiro behind Nicolás López and Maximiliano Gómez.
Tolima arrives after a 0-0 draw with Universitario at home on Tuesday and then a loss away to Deportivo Pasto three days later in the Colombian Apertura. Even with that setback, Lucas González’s team is fourth in the league and inside the qualification zone for the title playoff. González used nine changes to rest his starters, and his likely Libertadores lineup includes Neto Volpi, Jan Angulo, Bryan Rovira, Cristian Arrieta, Jherson Mosquera, Sebastián Guzmán, Cristian Trujillo, Junior Hernández, Luis Sandoval, Adrián Parra and Juan Pablo Torres.
The contrast is sharp. Nacional enters the match amid a crisis of results, while Tolima has tried to juggle continental football with a league campaign that still has it near the top. The stakes are immediate because neither side can afford to fall behind in a group that began with two draws, and the crowd already has taken notice: tickets for the Abdón Porte, Codo and José María Delgado stands are sold out, with only a small remainder left for Atilio García.
Argentine Yael Falcón Pérez will referee the match, with Gabriel Chad, Juan Mamani and Sebastián Martínez as assistants. Jorge Baliño and Lucas Novelli will handle VAR duties as Nacional and Tolima look for a first clean break in Group B.
