Boca Juniors and Racing Club will face off Wednesday in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals for a place among the tournament’s top 4 teams. The international competition, which crowns the best squad in South America, has been dominated by Brazilian teams of late, but the Xeneizes and the Academia want to break the spell.

Boca Juniors has recently gone from strength to strength. Unbeaten since June, the team coached by Jorge Almirón has reinforced its squad hoping to go far in the Libertadores. The additions of Lucas Janson, Lucas Blondel, Ezequiel Bullaude and Marcelo Saracchi improved an already strong team, but undoubtedly the Xeneize fans are most excited about the signing of Edinson Cavani. The Uruguay international is one of the biggest names of his generation, and has already scored for his new club.

Boca is also boasting a healthy squad, with only the injury to striker Luca Langoni, who suffered a tear to his right hamstring.

Racing Club isn’t flying as high. Coach Fernando Gago will miss new signing and round-of-16 hero Colombian Roger Martínez, but also midfielder Juan Nardoni and striker Nicolás Reniero. 

However, the Academia coach will have star signings Juan Fernando Quintero and Agustín Almendra available. This adds an extra layer to the series, as Almendra is a former Boca Juniors player who came through the Xeneize youth academy. Boca fans know Quintero as the player who scored the second goal for River Plate in the famed 2018 Copa Libertadores final, the only time Boca and River squared off in the final match which ended in a historic win for the Millonarios.

Boca Juniors and Racing Club have met seven times in the Copa Libertadores, with three ties and three wins for the Xeneize, including their last clash in the 2020 quarterfinals, which ended in Racing’s sole victory. Their overall record counts 214 matches, with 93 wins for Boca, 71 for Racing, and 50 ties.

The first leg of the series, which will be played at Boca’s La Bombonera stadium, will be played August 23 at 9:30 p.m. Argentina time. The second leg, at Racing Club’s Cilindro stadium, will be played on August 30. The game can be seen on Fox Sports, available on all cable TV networks.