Racing and Botafogo meet at 19h on Wednesday at Estádio Presidente Perón, known as El Cilindro, in the second round of the Conmebol Sul-Americana group stage. Racing enters as the leader of Group E with three points after beating Independiente Petrolero 3-1 in Bolivia, while Botafogo arrives after drawing at home with Caracas in its debut.
Racing is expected to use its strongest team for the visit from Brazil, a sign of how seriously the club is treating a match that comes after recent defeats to Independiente and River Plate and leaves it outside the top-8 in Argentina. The Argentine side is also carrying the credibility of a team that won the Sul-Americana in 2024 and the Recopa in 2025, and it will try to defend that status in Buenos Aires.
Botafogo will be led in his first away match by Franclim Carvalho, who also gets Alex Telles back after the left-back missed the previous two matches because of pain in his left thigh. Telles traveled with the squad to Buenos Aires, and Caio Roque is the alternative if he is not fit to start. Chris Ramos is not listed, while Joaquín Correa and Marçal are recovering from injury, Kaio Pantaleão is coming back from knee surgery and Jhoan Hernández remains under concussion protocol.
The probable Botafogo lineup is Raul; Vitinho, Bastos, Barboza and Alex Telles or Caio Roque; Medina, Danilo and Edenilson; Lucas Villalba, Matheus Martins and Arthur Cabral. Racing’s likely side is Cambeses; Cannavó or Martirena, Di Césare, Rojo and García Basso; Sosa, Zuculini and Adrián Fernández; Solari, Baltasar Rodríguez or Conechny and Adrián Martínez. Cristián Marcelo Garay Reyes of Chile will referee, with Rodrigo Carvajal of Chile as the VAR official, and Paramount+ will broadcast the match while ge follows it in real time.
Racing’s place at the top of Group E gives it the edge, but Botafogo’s first away test in the competition will show whether the draw with Caracas was a slow start or the shape of a harder campaign. At El Cilindro, the pressure is on the home side to turn status into points and on the visitors to leave Buenos Aires with something more than a decent performance.
