- The 'León' welcome Corinthians to La Plata, with the Brazilian side reaching this stage after eliminating another Argentine team, Rosario Central.
- It will be a clash between two sides who excel at set pieces: Corinthians have scored more goals from set-piece situations than any other team in the competition (six), while Estudiantes have conceded just once from such a situation.
Two South American champions who have never met in the CONMEBOL Libertadores. That is the defining feature of the tie between Estudiantes, four-time winners of the competition, and Corinthians, unbeaten champions in 2012. Their only previous official meeting is a recent one — and one that still hurts in La Plata: the 2023 CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarter-finals, when both sides won 1-0 at home before the 'Timão' progressed on penalties at Estadio UNO itself.
The 'Pincha' arrive with momentum. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg against Universidad Católica, they settled the tie in Santiago with an emphatic 3-0 victory: Joaquín Correa opened the scoring towards the end of the first half, while Guido Carrillo, captain and a product of the club's academy, scored twice to become Estudiantes' all-time leading scorer in the CONMEBOL Libertadores. Alexander Medina's side also rely on Tiago Palacios, who has scored three goals in this edition, and 40-year-old Fernando Muslera, who has played every minute in goal.
Estudiantes in the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026: results, squad and fixtures
Corinthians secured their place in the last eight through sheer character. After a 0-0 draw in Rosario, they welcomed Central to the Neo Química Arena, were reduced to ten men ten minutes into the second half and found the winning goal in the 80th minute through Breno Bidon. Fernando Diniz's side have scored more set-piece goals than any other team in the competition, with six — a figure that ties in with Estudiantes' own strength in that area: the 'Pincha' have conceded just one goal from a set piece throughout the tournament. Centre-back and goalscorer Gustavo Henrique, with three goals, and Rodrigo Garro, with four assists, are among their key figures.
The tie pits two different approaches to the competition against each other: the La Plata mystique, backed by a stadium where Estudiantes have never lost a first-leg match in the CONMEBOL Libertadores, and São Paulo's resilience, with Corinthians playing the quarter-finals of this tournament against a foreign opponent for the first time. For Corinthians, it is an opportunity to prove that their 2023 triumph was no fluke; for the 'Pincha', it is a chance to settle the score.
Corinthians in the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026: results, squad and fixtures
Match details
Stadium: Jorge Luis Hirschi, La Plata
Date and kick-off: Wednesday 9 September, 21:30
Referee: Esteban Ostojich (URU)
VAR: Antonio García (URU)
The match in numbers
- Estudiantes and Corinthians have met in just one edition of a CONMEBOL competition: the Timão progressed on penalties in the 2023 CONMEBOL Sudamericana quarter-finals. Both sides won their home fixture 1-0 in that tie.
- Estudiantes have never lost at home in first-leg matches in the CONMEBOL Libertadores: nine wins and three draws in 12 matches, including four victories and one draw against Brazilian opposition.
- This will be Corinthians' first CONMEBOL Libertadores quarter-final against a foreign opponent: their previous five appearances at this stage were all against Brazilian sides (Grêmio, Palmeiras, Atlético Mineiro, Vasco and Flamengo).
- Corinthians have scored more set-piece goals than any other team in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores, with six, including the goal that secured their qualification against Rosario Central in the Round of 16. Estudiantes, meanwhile, have conceded just one goal from a set piece in the competition, from a corner against Independiente Medellín.
- Guido Carrillo, Estudiantes' all-time leading scorer in the CONMEBOL Libertadores with 14 goals, has won more aerial duels than any other player since the start of the 2026 group stage (40 out of 71).
