Atletico Nacional vs Sao Paulo Prediction and Betting Tips | August 12th 2025

Atletico Nacional and Sao Paulo return to action in the Copa Libertadores when they lock horns at the Estadio Atanasio Girardot in the first leg of the round of 16 on Tuesday. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since July 2016, when the Colombian outfit picked up a 2-1 victory in the second leg of their Libertadores semi-final clash.

Atletico Nacional turned in another attacking show of class last Friday when they picked up a comfortable 3-0 victory over Alianza Valledupar in their Colombian Primera A clash.

This followed a 3-0 victory over second-tier side Cúcuta Deportivo in the knockout stage of the Copa Colombia on August 5, a result which saw their three-game winless run come to an end.

Nacional, who are currently second in the Primera A table, turn their focus to the Copa Libertadores, where they clinched second spot in Group F with nine points from six games, two points above third-placed Bahia in the Sudamericana qualifying spot.

As for Sao Paulo, they stormed through the Libertadores group stages, picking up four wins and two draws from their six matches to clinch top spot in Group D with 14 points from six games.

Hernan Crespo’s men head into Tuesday’s clash fresh off the back of a 2-0 victory over Vitoria in the Brasileiro Serie A, where they currently sit seventh in the league standings.

Sao Paulo now take on an opposing side who won their previous two Copa Libertadores meetings, scoring four goals and conceding once in their semi-final clash in July 2016.

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Atletico Nacional vs Sao Paulo Head-To-Head and Key Numbers

• The results have been split right down the middle in the history of this fixture, with Atletico Nacional and Sao Paulo claiming three wins each from their previous eight meetings.
• Nacional are unbeaten in four of their last five games against Sao Paulo, picking up three wins and one draw since November 2013.
• Sao Paulo have won each of their three away games in the Copa Libertadores this season, scoring five goals and keeping three clean sheets so far.
• Nacional are unbeaten in 16 of their 19 home games across all competitions in 2025, picking up 13 wins and three draws since the turn of the year.

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Atletico Nacional vs Sao Paulo Prediction

Atletico Nacional and Sao Paulo will be looking to secure an early march on in this tie and we expect both sides to go all out at the Estadio Atanasio Girardot. However, Nacional have been near impenetrable at home this year and we are backing them to hand the visitors their first Libertadores defeat of the campaign.

Prediction: Atletico Nacional 2-1 Sao Paulo

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Atletico Nacional vs Sao Paulo Betting Tips

Tip 1: Result - Nacional to win

Tip 2: Over 2.5 goals - Yes (There have been at least three goals scored in six of Nacional’s last eight games)

Tip 3: First to score - Nacional (The hosts have netted the opening goal in six of their last eight outings)