Colo Colo vs Audax Italiano

Colo Colo and Audax Italiano open a Copa Chile round-of-16 tie, with the winner edging closer to a route into next year's Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana. The league picture explains the gap in ambition: Colo Colo sit top of the Liga de Primera with 54 points, comfortably clear of Universidad Catolica and Universidad de Chile, while Audax Italiano sit 11th with 28 points, still scrapping for the top half. Form has diverged lately. Colo Colo have cooled with back-to-back draws, 0-0 at Huachipato and 1-1 at home to Deportes Concepcion, though they crushed Audax 5-1 in their last league meeting, with Javier Correa and Leandro Hernandez both scoring twice. Audax bounced back from a loss to Deportes Concepcion with a 1-0 win over O'Higgins, Giovani Chiaverano netting the winner after also scoring in that August rout. Colo Colo have won both league meetings this season, including a March win through Maximiliano Romero. Our prediction: 3-1