A big match awaits in South America football on Wednesday with Independiente del Valle and Flamengo battling for glory in the finals of the Recopa Sudamericana. This two-legged affair features the winners of the Copa Libertadores (Flamengo) and the Copa Sudamericana (Independiente del Valle). Flamengo is the biggest team in South American football right now and I don't see them losing to Independiente del Valle, and they can win this match ahead of the second leg. I have two main reasons for my choice of a Flamengo win;
[1] This competition is between the winners of the Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores. The Copa Libertadores is the superior competition and the biggest prize in South American football, so the winner is often stronger and bigger than the Copa Sudamericana winner. Flamengo emerged as the winner of the Copa Libertadores and they are branded as the best team in South America currently. Independiente del Valle won the lesser competition and are not on the same level as Flamengo. It's not a coincidence that in recent years, the Copa Libertadores winner has always won the Recopa finals. Both teams met in this competition two years ago and Flamengo won 5-2 on aggregate.
[2] Apart from the gap in quality between these two teams, Flamengo is in very good form and is outshining a lot of teams in Brazil. They have four wins in five games as they sit at the top of the Brazilian Serie A. 2023 has been a good year for Vitor Pereira's side as he led them to a bronze medal in the FIFA Club World Cup, defeating Al Ahly 4-2. With 12 goals in just five games, I expect Flamengo to dominate Independiente del Valle from start to finish as they continue their clean sweep of trophies this year. Independiente del Valle struggled last season in the Ligapro Serie A and couldn't even finish in the top three of the Ecuadorian league, this is a league that is inferior to the Brazilian top division and I'm note convinced that they would also struggle against Flamengo.
Looking at all their achievements recently, Flamengo should really make light work of this game and I expect nothing but a resounding victory for the Brazilians.
