The Conmebol announced the pots for the draw of the preliminary round of the 2025 Libertadores, in which Bahia and Corinthians will represent Brazil. The organization will define, on next December 19, Thursday, the matchups for the initial stage of the tournament, where four spots for the group stage will be contested.
The pots are determined according to the position in the Conmebol ranking, released this week. The preliminary Libertadores consists of three phases. Brazilian teams participate only in the second phase and face two knockout matches in an attempt to secure a spot in the group stage.
The first phase does not include teams from Brazil and Argentina. On the same day, the draw for the preliminary round of the Copa Sul-Americana will also take place, but this does not involve Brazilian teams.
Of the 47 teams qualified for the Pre-Libertadores, six participate in the first phase, with three matchups. The three victorious teams advance to the second phase and enter Pot 2. They may become opponents of Bahia and Corinthians, who are in Pot 1. Brazilian teams do not face each other in Phase 2; however, the draw results may foresee a possible matchup in Phase 3.
Phase 1:
Pot 1: Alianza Lima (Peru), El Nacional (Ecuador) and Defensor (Uruguay)
Pot 2: Nacional (Paraguay), Monagas (Venezuela) and the representative from Bolivia
Phase 2:
Pot 1: Boca Juniors (Argentina), Corinthians (Brazil), Cerro Porteño (Paraguay), Barcelona (Ecuador), Santa Fe (Colombia), Melgar (Peru), Bahia (Brazil) and Ñublense (Chile)
Pot 2: Deportes Iquique (Chile), Boston River (Uruguay), Universidad Central (Venezuela), the representative from Bolivia, the representative from Colombia, in addition to the three teams qualified from the first phase.
The matches in the second phase will be two-legged, with the higher-ranked teams in the Conmebol ranking (in Pot 1) deciding the matchups at home. Corinthians is in 18th position in the ranking, while Bahia is in 77th position (check the complete ranking here).
The top eight teams will advance to the third and final phase, where a new draw will be held. The teams that advance will enter the group stage of the Libertadores.
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