Colombia's Nacional fights to remain in Copa Libertadores

Colombian club Atletico National will give their all to beat Argentina's Rosario Central at Anastasio Girardot Stadium, in Medellin (center) Thursday evening in the quarterfinal of 2016 Copa Libertadores in order to remain in the regional tournament, Cuban news agency Prensa Latina reported.

Rosario Central won 1-0 the first leg, and has a slight advantage over the Colombian team.

Some local sport experts think Atletico Nacional, led by coach Reynaldo Rueda, has lost momentum in the last weeks, especially when in Round of 16 the team had some difficulty to defeat Argentina's Huracan.

Also, some important players will be absent from Thursday match due to injuries, such as Luis Carlos Ruiz and Victor Ibarbo. It is expected that Macnelly Torres and Andres Ibarguen will help the team to strengthen the attack despite these absences.

Rueda, who has led the national teams of Colombia, Ecuador and Honduras, said the team is tense because they are facing a strong rival but their goal is to reach semifinals.

Rosario Central, led by coach Eduardo Coudet, arrived in Colombia on Tuesday night. No surprises are expected in their lineup.

The possible lineups are the following:

Atletico Nacional: Franco Armani; Daniel Bocanegra, Felipe Aguilar, Alexis Henriquez, Davinson Sanchez; Farid Diaz, Alexander Mejia, Sebastian Perez, Alejandro Guerra; Marlos Moreno and Orlando Berrio.

Rosario Central: Sebastian Sosa; Victor Salazar, Esteban Burgos, Alejandro Donatti, Pablo Alvarez; Walter Montoya, Damian Musto, Jose Fernandez, Franco Cervi; German Herrera and Marco Ruben.