With eight games remaining in the Liga Postobon, the race for the top eight places and a chance to enter the second stage of the season remains tight.
On Sunday, league leaders Nacional will meet third placed Chico with only goal difference separating the teams. It will be the second time the two meet in four days, after Chico sent Nacional crashing out of the Postobon Cup on Thursday night, triumphing 7-6 in a marathon penalty shoot-out in the semi-final (see video).
Although the tie finished an aggregate 2-2 draw, Nacional coach Santiago Escobar admitted they had been outplayed over the two legs and Chico deserved their spot in the final. After blasting his team for being predictable and playing without speed and depth, Escobar will be looking for a big improvement in the top of the table clash.
Also on 16 points, second placed Junior will be looking to capitalise on the Nacional Chico game and move ahead of one or both of their competitors. Junior face seventh placed Itagui, who will be looking to pull away from the six other teams hovering in mid-table on 14 points. However, to do so they will have to overcome the homesickness that has blighted their campaign this year, having won only one game out of five on their travels.
One point behind the top three, Quindio will be looking to turn around a disappointing run of form against Millonarios, who are one point and one place behind. Quindio have not won in their last four games, losing the previous two one-nil, while Millonarios will be looking to register their third win in a row.
Of the other teams on 14 points, Deportivo Pereira de will have home advantage against Deportivo Cali, Deportes Tolima will meet third from bottom Real Cartagena, Atletico Huila will travel to Santa Fe while America de Cali will take on strugglers Cucuta.
In other matches Medellin will make the short trip to Envigado for a local derby, where both teams will be hoping to kickstart their seasons and challenge for the crucial mid-table positions after indifferent starts, while bottom place La Equidad meet Once Caldas, who are one point below the mid-table mass on 13 points.
Full schedule:
Saturday October 15th
8.00PM La Equidad vs Once Caldas
3.30PM Envigado vs Medellin
3.30PM Tolima vs Real Cartagena
6.20PM Quindio vs Millonarios
8.00PM Santa Fe vs Atletico Huila
8.00PM America de Cali vs Cucuta
Sunday October 16th
3.30PM Deportivo Pereira vs Deportivo Cali
3.30PM Junior vs Itagui
5.30PM Nacional vs Chico