Cerro Porteño will host Junior de Barranquilla on Tuesday at 19:00 in the Nueva Olla, a meeting that already carries weight on the second date of the 2026 Copa Libertadores group stage. Ariel Holan has released his convocados, and the list brings one clear change in emphasis: Freddy Noguera, 22, is in.
That call matters because Noguera was once shielded by a USD 30 million release clause at Grêmio de Porto Alegre after leaving Olimpia, and this is the kind of match where Cerro Porteño is looking for answers. Ignacio Aliseda and Fabrizio Domínguez Huertas are out with muscular problems, while Cecilio Domínguez is missing because he was sent off against Sporting Cristal in Lima. Holan has to work around those absences against a rival that has come to Paraguay with a point from its opening game against a Brazilian team.
Cerro Porteño also needs the result for a simpler reason: it is trying to recover the points it dropped in Lima against Sporting Cristal, with Palmeiras of Brazil still waiting further down the road. Junior arrives with Guillermo Paiva as its leading striker, plus Luis Muriel and Teófilo Gutiérrez in the squad, which gives the visitors enough experience to punish mistakes if the game opens up.
The history in Paraguay leans toward Cerro Porteño. The two clubs have met six times in the Copa Libertadores, with two Paraguayan wins, one draw and three losses for Cerro, and in Paraguay the record cited here shows three matches, two local wins and one draw. Cerro beat Junior 1-0 in 1994, the teams drew 0-0 in 1996, and Cerro won again 1-0 in 2000.
There is another backdrop hanging over the night: refereeing. On the first date of group A, Paraguayan referee Derlis López handled Cusco FC against Flamengo in Peru, and Cusco FC issued a strong statement expressing “profunda preocupación” over the performance. The club also demanded, “En favor de la transparencia, solicitamos acceso a la información técnica sobre las decisiones mencionadas, así como garantías de que los protocolos reglamentarios serán aplicados con el mismo rigor, independientemente del tamaño o procedencia de los clubes.”
For Cerro Porteño, the task is immediate and familiar. The club has a home date to defend, a place in the standings to repair, and a roster that is thinner than Holan would prefer. For Junior, the chance is just as obvious: take something from Asunción and keep the group stage from slipping away too early.
