Cienciano heads to Montevideo City Torque without Hohberg or Núñez to seal its semifinal berth

This Thursday Cienciano puts a significant chunk of its season on the line in Montevideo, and it does so with two absences that force a reshuffle. The club announced its squad list for the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals, confirming what had already been rumored: neither Alejandro Hohberg nor Claudio Núñez will be available.

Hohberg's absence is due to injury, while Núñez is also missing from the list. It's not all bad news, though: Gerson Barreto is back after serving his suspension for yellow card accumulation, a return that gives Horacio Melgarejo an extra piece to work with when building his lineup.

The Cusco club arrives at this match with a considerable cushion: it won the first leg 2-0 against Montevideo City Torque, a result that leaves it in a comfortable but not definitive position. Now it's time to close out the job in Uruguay, on a field that figures to be a tough one.

Possible changes to the lineup

With Núñez out, all signs point to Carlos Cabello taking over on the right flank. Sebastián Cavero and Alonso Yovera are also being mentioned as alternative options, two names Melgarejo is considering for that spot. In the spot Hohberg leaves open, everything suggests Romagnoli will get the start.

Cienciano's coach was in no mood to let anyone relax despite the two goal cushion. He knows nothing is settled in soccer until the final whistle blows, and that's why he called for intensity and focus from the opening minute.

Coming in focused from minute zero, leaving it all out there on every ball, and from that point we have to look to score a goal to make things harder for them. And when it's time to suffer, we have to know how to suffer too. From there we're aware this is a 180 minute match, we've already played the first 90 and now we have to keep goingHoracio Melgarejo

The numbers, in any case, favor Cienciano. A win or a draw locks up the semifinal spot. Even a loss works, as long as it's by no more than a single goal, to keep the club alive in the tournament.

What's at stake beyond this tie? Nothing less than a spot in the semifinals of the 2026 Copa Sudamericana, where the opponent would be Atlético Mineiro. A big prize that has the city of Cusco watching closely to see what happens tonight in Montevideo.