Auckland City vs Boca Juniors predictions: Boca to put outclassed Kiwis on the spot
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- Auckland City have conceded 16 goals in two matches
- Boca lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich last time out
- Recommended bet: Boca Juniors to score from a penalty
New Zealand amateurs Auckland City are bowing out of the Club World Cup after hidings at the hands of Bayern Munich and Benfica and have to fear the worst against Boca Juniors.
The only way Boca can qualify for the last 16 is for them to pip Benfica on goal difference and that means going for broke against the Kiwis at Geodis Park in Nashville.
Team news
Goalkeeper Nathan Garrow came in and made 10 saves in Auckland's 6-0 drubbing by Benfica, so may keep his place ahead of Conor Tracey.
Boca have another defensive reshuffle to make with Ayrton Costa (hamstring) joining the suspended Nicolas Figal on the sidelines.
It means coach Miguel Russo is set to deploy a second-choice pairing of Lautaro Di Lollo, with Marco Pellegrini coming in for his debut.
Marcus Rojo appears to be way down Russo's pecking list but midfielder Ander Herrera is also suspended.
The stats
Auckland City have conceded 16 goals in two matches. They have also conceded 63 shots and had just five of their own.
The Kiwis have conceded three penalties in two matches.
Auckland City have yet to have a player booked, while Boca have piled up five yellow cards and two reds.
Boca Juniors have won only one of their last six games.
Prediction
Boca Juniors have only one option in Nashville – go for it and hope they can run up a decent score.
For the Argentine aces to go through, they need to beat Auckland City and then pip Benfica on goal difference, needing therefore Benfica to lose to Bayern in the other Group C game.
And since the Portuguese side are six goals to the good after thrashing Auckland 6-0, the pressure is on Boca.
Luckily for them, Auckland are out of their depth in this tournament and coughing up way too many chances – 63 in two games.
Boca may well have to take chances at some point but they should be confident that little comes back from the New Zealand part-timers, who have managed only five shots so far.
All Boca landslide options come with cramped prices so maybe take a punt on them scoring from a penalty.
Auckland have conceded spot kicks in both games, and they will be doing an awful lot of defending in their own box, where VAR will shine a light on any defensive misdemeanours the on-field officials might miss.
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