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By Brian Homewood
RIO DE JANEIRO, May 20 (Reuters) - Titleholders Boca Juniors and their fellow Argentines San Lorenzo both face an uphill struggle in the second legs of their Libertadores Cup quarter-final ties this week.
The two sides were held at home in last week's first legs and will need either a win or a high-scoring draw in difficult venues to progress against Mexican debutants Atlas and Ecuadorean champions LDU respectively.
Boca, who drew 2-2 with Atlas last week, visit Guadalajara's Jalisco stadium on Wednesday and will have to do much better than on their visit in the group stage of the competition, when they were comprehensively beaten 3-1.
With playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme still not 100 percent fit and striking pair Martin Palermo and Rodrigo Palacio in erratic form, Argentina's most popular club, six times Libertadores champions, will depend heavily on their experience in the tournament.
"It's a difficult venue but Boca have players with experience, who are used to this type of game, and that makes me confident we can still qualify," said forward Jesus Datolo.
San Lorenzo, who drew 1-1 with LDU in their first leg, face the added difficulty of playing at 2,800 metres above sea level in Quito at a stadium where two other Argentine sides, Arsenal and Estudiantes, have already been beaten this year.
However, Ramon Diaz's team, who are desperate to celebrate their centenary by winning the tournament for the first time, have already shown the dangers of writing them off.
In the group stage, they hit back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 away to Real Potosi, despite playing at nearly 4,000 metres above sea level.
Another spectacular fightback followed in the last round where, trailing 2-0 to River Plate and down to nine men, they fought back for a 2-2 draw which gave them a 4-3 aggregate win.
Sao Paulo will again look to Adriano to help them survive against fellow Brazilians Fluminense while Pele's former club Santos host Mexico's America with a 2-0 deficit from the first game.
Adriano, on loan from Inter Milan and starting to look his best once again after two years of fitness and disciplinary problems, has scored five of Sao Paulo's nine goals in the tournament, including the only goal of last week's first leg.
His form was rewarded last week when he was recalled to the Brazil squad for next month's World Cup qualifiers.
