- Grêmio will look to preserve their place in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana, boosted by the arrival of two in-form signings.
- After their CONMEBOL Libertadores campaign, Bolívar will set their sights on a place in the Round of 16.
Bolívar will contest the play-offs after finishing third in Group C of the CONMEBOL Libertadores, behind Independiente Rivadavia and Fluminense. Grêmio ended Group F of the Sudamericana as runners-up to Montevideo City Torque with 11 points. The winners will face São Paulo in the Round of 16.
Alejandro Restrepo’s side come into the tie in confident mood after a 4-0 victory over Guabirá, featuring a brace from Martín Cauteruccio, lifted them to third place in the Bolivian league. Grêmio resumed their Brasileirão campaign with a 2-1 defeat by Mirassol and remain just one point above the relegation zone, a situation that has heightened concerns within Luís Castro’s squad.
Bolívar strengthened their attack with the additions of Billy Arce, Dairon Asprilla and Bruno Miranda. Asprilla scored in the emphatic win over Guabirá, making an encouraging start to life at the club. Grêmio, meanwhile, brought in defender Wallace and striker Matheus Nascimento for the second half of the season, while deals are also in place for right-back Diego Caito and Cape Verde international Jovane Cabral, one of his country’s standout performers at the most recent FIFA World Cup.
Match information
Stadium: Hernando Siles, La Paz
Date and kick-off time: Thursday 23 July, 18:00 local time
Referee: Roberto Pérez (PER)
VAR: Diego Haro (PER)
The match in numbers:
- Grêmio have won three of their four matches against Bolívar in CONMEBOL competitions, all of them in the Libertadores group stage: two victories in 1983 and one win and one defeat in 2003. This will be their first meeting in a knockout round.
- Bolívar are unbeaten in 18 of their 22 home matches against Brazilian opponents in CONMEBOL competitions, recording 13 wins and five draws. However, one of their four defeats came against Grêmio, who won 2-1 in March 1983.
- Grêmio’s possession sequences during the group stage of the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana lasted an average of 10.9 seconds, the longest of any team in the competition. El Tricolor averaged 3.6 passes per sequence in that phase.
- Martín Cauteruccio has scored in each of the last seven editions of CONMEBOL competitions in which he has featured, including once for Bolívar in the 2026 Libertadores. One of the Uruguayan striker’s 16 continental goals came against Grêmio, in a 1-1 draw while playing for San Lorenzo in March 2016.
- Since 2018, Bolívar have not been outperformed in terms of possession in 30 of their 35 home matches in CONMEBOL competitions, averaging 62.7 per cent of the ball. During that period, they have faced Brazilian opponents ten times, recording five wins, two draws and three defeats, and had less than 50 per cent possession only once: 49.5 per cent against Fluminense in 2026.
