River Plate vs Atlético MineiroTuesday, October 29, 00:30 (GMT, Wed)

With domestic cup competitions taking center stage across Europe this week, players face the familiar problem of second-guessing team news – particularly those who, like this column, need to make their decisions early.

When it comes to betting, I have rarely had much interest in the Carabao Cup and others, and I make no apologies for traveling across the Atlantic to find a game where strong teams are selected and maximum efforts are made.

This is the second leg of the Copa Libertadores semi-final, so there is a huge prize at stake.

The problem is that Atlético is leading 3-0 against Buenos Aires. So there's no denying that there's a chance that this game will turn out to be quite a blast.

However, there is clearly potential for a blowout too, especially if River scores early, while there will be a fervent atmosphere at the Monumental, a stadium which will also host the final next month.

If River needed some extra incentive, it's there, and they'll certainly give it a try with a nothing-to-lose mindset.

Fans will be concerned that the team hasn't scored goals recently – they've managed just one in their last five games and multiple goals in just one of their last 11 games.

This is also a cause for concern for bettors who are thinking about how they will engage with the hosts. River appears to be coming up short in many markets, particularly shots on goal, where star striker Miguel Borja has a 5+ rating. He has a 7/5 chance of scoring, which is very likely if River manages to turn things around – he has 28 goals this season so far.

However, I believe that it is better to bet on both teams scoring on equal terms.

For all of River's goalscoring woes, the fact is that only two teams in Brazil's top flight have conceded more goals than Atlético this season, and both are in the relegation zone.

So I'm pretty confident that River can break through, but no matter how you look at it, at some point they have to push forward and it's almost inevitable that gaps will arise.

And as they showed last week, Atletico have the talent to capitalize on it.

In short, given the way this game is set up, Evens looks like a good price in this market, while the fact that five of the last six semi-final second legs in this competition have received this bet only adds to the confidence .

There's also a good chance that things will turn out a bit bleak, as is often the case with Argentina and Brazil clashes.

The appointment of referee Wilmar Roldan is certainly an eye-catcher. He has shown a whopping 73 cards in 10 CONMEBOL club competition games this season.

Again, the markets are reasonably informed, but the market for player cards often offers some value, and that's where I turn to the visitors' left-back Guilherme Arana.

The Brazil international leads his side's card list this season with 11 from 41 starts and will do everything he can to lead by example as captain.

Atlético are likely to use every trick available if necessary to reach the final, and so Arana seems a strong candidate for a card if this gets lively.

However, it is far from being at the top of the market 4.11 offering that he would receive another card.