Uruguay are set to take on Paraguay at the Estadio Centenario on Saturday for matchday seven of their South American World Cup qualifying campaign.
The hosts currently sit second in the table with 13 points, while the visitors are in seventh place, level on five points with eighth-placed Chile.
Match preview
© Imago
Following the extreme disappointment of crashing out in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, something they had not done since 2002, Uruguay dismissed manager Diego Alonso and eventually hired Marcelo Bielsa in May 2023.
Bielsa has had a fantastic impact on the Uruguayan national team, losing five of his 19 matches in charge across all competitions and guiding the side to a third-placed finish at the 2024 Copa America.
Uruguay confidently won all three of their group-stage matches and remarkably defeated Brazil on penalties in the quarterfinals, but despite having 62% possession in the semifinals, they were unable to capitalise and lost 1-0 to Colombia.
They narrowly beat Canada on penalties in the third-place playoff match after Luis Suarez scored a 92nd-minute equaliser to force a penalty shootout, which Uruguay won 4-2.
Heading into matchdays seven and eight of their South American FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Bielsa's side sit in a solid second place having taken 13 points from six fixtures, and they will be looking to solidify their position with two positive results in this international break.
Their opponents, Paraguay, are likely to be low on confidence heading into Saturday's game after suffering an awful Copa America, crashing out in the group stage for the first time since 2016.
They were defeated 2-1 by Colombia, 4-1 by Brazil and 2-1 by Costa Rica to leave them bottom of the group without taking any points, resulting in manager Daniel Oscar Garnero being sacked.
Gustavo Alfaro has taken charge of the side and will be leading Paraguay into his first game as manager when they face Uruguay on Saturday, and the Argentinian will be hoping he can lead Paraguay to their first victory in this fixture since 2007.
Team News
© Imago
Uruguay's all-time leading goalscorer, Suarez, recently announced that he would be retiring from international football, with the game against Paraguay set to be his last for his nation, and he is likely to start.
Darwin Nunez, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ronald Araujo, Jose Maria Gimenez and Mathias Olivera are all banned for the next five international matches due to altercations with fans at the Copa America semifinal against Colombia.
Matias Vina, Giorgian de Arrascaeta, Federico Vinas and Nicolas de la Cruz are all also out of the squad due to injury issues.
As for Paraguay, Antonio Sanabria is the only player to score for the team in their six World Cup qualifiers so far, and he is expected to lead the line in this one.
Brighton & Hove Albion's Julio Enciso is also likely to start as part of an attacking midfield three, alongside Miguel Almiron and Ramon Sosa.
Uruguay possible starting lineup:
Rochet; Nandez, Caceres, Bueno, Saracchi; Valverde, Ugarte; Pellistri, Torres, Araujo; Suarez
Paraguay possible starting lineup:
Morinigo; Velazquez, Balbuena, Alderete, Espinoza; Villasanti, Bobadilla; Almiron, Enciso, Sosa; Sanabria
We say: Uruguay 3-0 Paraguay
The hosts will want to produce a strong performance to give Suarez the perfect send-off in his final game for the country, and they should comfortably beat a poor Paraguay side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
Argentina
Uruguay
Ecuador
Colombia
Brazil
Paraguay
Bolivia
Venezuela
Chile
Peru
