Still seeking their first victory in the top tier of the CONCACAF Nations League, Guyana welcome Guatemala to the Synthetic Track and Field Facility on Friday in the third match of the competition for both sides.
Last month, the Golden Jaguars were held 2-2 by Martinique, dropping them down to fifth in the Group B standings, three points below the Guatemalans, who are second following a 0-0 draw with Costa Rica.
Match preview
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Jamal Shabazz got the start he was looking for on matchday two, as his side were up 2-0 before their game was a half-hour-old, but in the end, a victory was not to be.
It was only the second time the senior team had failed to win a Nations League encounter when drawing first blood, with the previous time occurring in November 2019 versus Jamaica (1-1).
Guyana are in danger of dropping back down into League B of this tournament, something that will happen should they lose this encounter and Guadeloupe and Suriname win theirs.
A defeat on Friday would mark the first time this side will have lost consecutive matches in this competition at the Synthetic Track and Field Facility, losing their previous Nations League match played there versus Suriname (3-1).
Only one of their last six matches across all competitions has ended in a victory for Guyana, defeating Belize 3-1 in a June World Cup qualifier.
That victory ended a five-year winless drought for them versus sides from Central America, with their previous triumph against that region occurring against Belize in March 2019 (2-1).
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In what was a defensive stalemate on matchday two, Guatemala maintained their place in the top two of Group B by posting their first clean sheet of the tournament.
On Friday, they can end a two-match winless run away from home across all competitions, following up a 4-1 friendly defeat in Argentina with a 1-1 draw against Uruguay.
Making their second appearance in League A, the Guatemalans are still seeking their first victory away from home at this tournament, losing both of their games as the visitors last year by a combined margin of 6-2.
Luis Fernando Tena's men can book a place in the knockout portion of this tournament for the first time with a victory, combined with defeats by Suriname and Guadeloupe.
Since suffering a 3-2 defeat versus Trinidad and Tobago in this competition last October, La Bicolor are unbeaten in their last four encounters against Caribbean nations, conceding only one goal over that stretch.
Los Chapines boast a 100% record all-time against Guyana, failing to concede in any of their three previous meetings with them, including a 2-0 triumph at Providence Stadium in 2012.
Team News
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From matchday one to two of their Nations League campaign, the Guyana starting 11 saw two changes as Jalen Jones and Stephen Duke-McKenna came into the fold in place of Curtez Kellman and Omari Glasgow.
Isaiah Jones notched a brace in their draw with Martinique, his first two goals with the national team, while Glasgow can equal Nigel Codrington's all-time record for goals with Guyana should he find the back of the net on Friday.
On the Guatemalan side, Tena inserted three newcomers in the starting 11 versus Costa Rica, with Nicolas Samayoa, Marco Dominguez and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing replacing Jose Morales, Oscar Castellanos and Elmer Cardoza.
Nicholas Hagen, who is five appearances away from 50 with the national team, only had to make two stops to collect a clean sheet on matchday two.
Guyana possible starting lineup:
Roberts; Vancooten, J. Jones, Greenidge, Daniel; Bonds, Ferguson; I. Jones, De Rosario, Glasgow; Moore
Guatemala possible starting lineup:
Hagen; Herrera, Pinto, Samayoa, Morales; Dominguez, Castellanos; Santis, Galindo, Cardoza; Rubin
We say: Guyana 0-2 Guatemala
The Guatemalan backline has traditionally been well-disciplined and solid, and we believe that, along with their individual quality in the attacking third, will be enough to earn them maximum points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
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