Fluminense begins its defense of the Copa Libertadores away from home. Their rival is Alianza Lima, one of the strongest teams in Peru, which at the continental level will try to break a bad streak: it has not managed to advance to the round of 16 of this tournament since 2010.
The team led by Colombian Alejandro Restrepo was local runner-up last year and has as a great reference for the team the experienced Argentine attacker Hernan Barcos, 39 years old, and with time at Grêmio, Palmeiras and Cruzeiro, among others. Defender Ricardo Lagos and forward Pablo Sabbag will be absent due to injury, while one of his figures, Panamanian Cecilio Waterman, will be there.
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He arrives at the debut of Group A of the Libertadores with an irregular performance at the local level. He is sixth in the Apertura tournament and has just beaten Chankas 3-0 to end a streak of three straight losses.
Several absentees at Fluminense
The Brazilian team managed to maintain the base of the squad that won the first Copa Libertadores in its history and has just won the Recopa Sudamericana. However, for this first match he has several absences between illnesses and suspensions.
The scorer Germán Cano, Ganso, Gabriel Pires, Marlon and Keno are among those who come with injuries. On the other hand, John Kennedy and Diogo Barbosa are suspended.
É PELO BICAMPEONATO! É #DIADEFLU EM LIMA! 🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/7ZVL9hhEL9
— Fluminense F.C. (@FluminenseFC) April 3, 2024
Fernando Diniz will be able to have Marcelo, Felipe Melo, the Colombian Jhon Arias, and Douglas Costa, one of the additions in the last market. The squad arrives rested, since it has not seen official action since the elimination against Flamengo in the Carioca Championship semifinal on March 16.
Time and stadium of Alianza Lima-Fluminense
The match will be played starting at 7:30 p.m. local time (9:30 p.m. in Brasilia) at the Alejandro Villanueva stadium in Lima. The referee will be the Uruguayan Andrés Matonte.
Both make up Group A along with Colo Colo (Chile) and Cerro Porteño (Paraguay). These two teams will also face each other today in Santiago from 9 p.m. (Brasília time).
🎵VAMOS, VAMOS, FLUMINENSE
VAMOS, VAMOS PRA GANHAR🎵Chegou o #DiaDeFlu de estreia na @LibertadoresBR 2024! Às 21h30, o Campeão da América entra em campo contra o Alianza Lima-PER, fora de casa! VAMOS VENCER, NENSE! pic.twitter.com/m3EAKmDunc
— Fluminense F.C. (@FluminenseFC) April 3, 2024
