River Plate return to action after the weekend from hell determined to take their anger out on Bolivian raiders Blooming in their final Copa Sudamericana Group H match.
The Argentine giants are nursing the scars from a shock 3-2 loss to Belgrano in the final of the Torneo Apertura on Sunday.
Anger at even being in the Sudamerica rather than the more prestigious Copa Libertadores has never gone away, so the fans are demanding a bounceback win against eliminated Blooming.
River Plate v Blooming Tips Summary
Best Bet - River Plate & Under 3.5 goals @ 5/4
Alternative Bet - Under 6.5 River Plate corners @ 11/10
Bet Builder - Lucas Silva to score or assist, Under 3 Blooming corners & Under 5 match cards @ 5/1
River Plate v Blooming Prediction
Best Bet: River Plate & Under 3.5 goals @ 5/4
River Plate need just a point to seal top spot in Group H and a place in the Round of 16 rather than the play-off round, but at heavy odds-on for the win it's clear what is expected of them.
And they should be heartened by having to play Blooming, who are bottom of the group and eliminated and not going well domestically, either.
But River are in near-crisis at the moment, with players walking out before and after Sunday's horror loss to Belgrano - a 3-2 defeat in neutral Cordoba after being 2-1 up with five minutes left on the clock - and new boss Eduardo Coudet under fire.
Blooming's lone point from this campaign was courtesy of a 1-1 draw at home to River Plate with all five of the Argentinian side's matches producing under 3.5 goals.
Take the home win and under 3.5 goals.
Alternative Bet: Under 6.5 River Plate corners @ 11/10
River's corners look far too high at 6.5, even allowing for their likely dominance.
In five group-stage encounters thus far, their corner count reads 2 (away at Blooming), 3, 6, 5 and 3.
There is nothing in those figures to suggest a corners bloodbath, especially in a game in which they only need a draw to progress as group winners.
River Plate v Blooming Bet Builder Tip
Lucas Silva to score or assist
Under 3 Blooming corners
Under 5 match cards
Pays 5/1
River's teenage midfield star Lucas Silva will start against Blooming with so many of his senior team-mates either injured or having left the club after Sunday's final loss to Belgrano.
The 19-year-old had an assist off the bench against Bragantino on Matchday 4 which earned him 79 minutes in the next game against Carabobo.
Take a punt on Silva having a goal or an assist as leg one of the bet builder.
Blooming failed to win a single corner in the home draw against River in April and could easily draw another blank. Expect them to at least have no more than two corners.
The match stakes aren't high enough to anticipate a raft of cards; Blooming have nothing to play for and River have picked up just two yellows in each of their two home games. Go under 5 match cards.
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Key Match Stats
River Plate top Group H going into their sixth and final match and need a point to go straight into the Round of 16
Bolivians Blooming are bottom of the group with one point and already eliminated
Four of River Plate's five group-stage games have produced two goals or less
When these teams met in Bolivia on Matchday One on April 8, the game ended 1-1
River Plate are averaging 3.8 corners per game in the competition
Blooming failed to win a single corner in the home game against the Argentinian side on April 8
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
