- The 'Verdão', who have just eliminated Cerro Porteño, will open the tie at home in São Paulo. The second leg will be played a week later in Quito.
- With Gonzalo Valle as their last line of defence -the goalkeeper with the most saves since the start of the Eternal Glory group stage, (31)- LDU will look to end a significant run: Palmeiras have progressed from the quarter-finals in each of their last five appearances at this stage.
A year later, they meet again. Palmeiras and LDU Quito return to the scene of their 2025 semi-final with the memory still fresh, when the 'Albos' won 3-0 in Quito before the 'Verdão' turned the tie around with a 4-0 victory in São Paulo. There is a recurring theme in the history between the two sides that will fuel both teams' hopes: in their two previous CONMEBOL Libertadores ties, the side that played the decisive leg at home always came out on top. This time, the first leg will be played in Brazil.
Palmeiras arrive with an unbeaten record in knockout ties and the advantage of having settled their Round of 16 tie away from home. After a 1-1 draw at home against Cerro Porteño — with the side playing with ten men for much of the second half — Abel Ferreira's team won 1-0 at La Nueva Olla, Gustavo Gómez scoring in the 41st minute, and closed out the tie with composure. José Manuel López, with three goals and four assists, and Jhon Arias, with three goals, are the attacking weapons of a side that produced more expected goals than their opponents in all eight of their matches in the tournament.
Palmeiras in the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026: results, squad and fixtures
LDU Quito eliminated Mirassol, the tournament's surprise package, after a 1-1 draw in Brazil and a goalless draw at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado, sending the tie to a penalty shoot-out. Gustavo Álvarez's side rely on the assured presence of Gonzalo Valle, the goalkeeper with the most saves in the competition since the start of the group stage, as well as Janner Corozo's assists and the emergence of Yerlin Quiñónez, who has scored twice. They also have a protagonist with a story of his own in this tie: Deyverson, who scored Palmeiras' title-winning goal in the 2021 final, will face the club that made him a champion in the CONMEBOL Libertadores for the first time.
For Ecuador's 'Rey de Copas', the task is to repeat the script from 2025 — but this time complete the job: secure a positive result in São Paulo that will allow them to decide the tie at altitude in Quito, where they had put together a run of seven consecutive wins in the competition before the 0-0 draw with Mirassol. For three-time South American champions Palmeiras, the mission is to repeat last year's feat.
LDU Quito in the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2026: results, squad and fixtures
Match details
Stadium: Nubank Parque, São Paulo
Date and kick-off: Wednesday 9 September, 19:00
Referee: Jesús Valenzuela (VEN)
VAR: Juan Soto (VEN)
Match facts
- Palmeiras and LDU Quito have met four times in the CONMEBOL Libertadores, and the home side has won every time. Verdão won 4-0 in the second leg of the 2025 semi-finals, the biggest victory by any team against the Albos in the knockout stages of a CONMEBOL competition.
- Palmeiras have progressed from each of their last five CONMEBOL Libertadores quarter-final appearances, remaining unbeaten across those ten matches (5W 5D).
- Palmeiras have produced more expected goals than their opponents in all eight of their matches in the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores. They are the only side among the teams that took part in the group stage never to have recorded a lower xG than their opponents in this edition of the competition (Alianza Lima and The Strongest achieved the same in the preliminary stages).
- Deyverson (LDU Quito) will face Palmeiras for the first time in the CONMEBOL Libertadores. He has scored five goals in the knockout stages of the competition, including three against Brazilian opposition: the title-winning goal for Verdão against Flamengo in 2021 and both goals in Atlético Mineiro's quarter-final victory over Fluminense in 2024.
- Gonzalo Valle (LDU Quito) is the goalkeeper with the most saves since the start of the group stage of the 2026 CONMEBOL Libertadores, with 31. His 2.5 goals prevented is also the third-highest figure over that period (3.4 for Alexis Martín Arias and 2.7 for Otávio).
