Friday, June 6

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Sports Mole previews Saturday's World Cup Qualifying - North Central America clash between Anguilla and El Salvador, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Dreaming of a spot in the top two of Group F in the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers, El Salvador will travel to face struggling Anguilla at the Raymond E. Guishard Technical Centre on Saturday.

The hosts will be desperate to avoid another hammering this weekend, while Los Cuscatlecos will be looking to make it three games unbeaten in the group.

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Match preview

Keith Jeffrey's Anguilla have struggled immensely throughout their qualifying campaign, and with a streak of four straight defeats ahead of this clash, they will be fearing the worst.

On Wednesday, this weekend's hosts were thrashed 6-0 by Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, a result that means they have now conceded 18 goals across their three group games, while failing to score even once.

A third loss in this round of qualifying has left Jeffrey's side at the foot of the table, where they are yet to claim a single point, though having avoided defeat in just one of their last seven competitive fixtures, their placement comes as no surprise.

However, Anguilla could take heart from the fact that they have performed better on their own turf than on their travels over the past year, and having won two, drawn one and lost two of their five most recent home games, they could be quietly hopeful of avoiding another embarrassing scoreline.

If Saturday's hosts can earn a rare win, then they could go level on points with Vincy Heat, but their shockingly poor goal difference makes it unrealistic to think that they would move up to fourth in that dream scenario.

Meanwhile, Hernan Dario Gomez's El Salvador have lost only one of their last five matches - and two of their last 10 - going into this weekend's action, and three points would be a major boost to their chances of qualification.

In preparation for their return to competitive football, Los Cuscatlecos arranged a friendly with Guatemala on June 1, and despite drawing 1-1, the manager will have been pleased to see his team keep fighting until late on when youngster Brandon Ramirez scored an 89th-minute equaliser.

As for Group F, Gomez's men are unbeaten so far, having played out a 0-0 stalemate with Puerto Rico and triumphed 3-1 over Saint Vincent & the Grenadines last summer, and their four points has them third, level with El Huracan Azul in second.

Knowing that another victory would put them in a strong position to make the next round, this weekend's visitors will take confidence from their travelling record that features five wins from their last six on the road, with their sole blight being a 2-1 defeat against club side Houston Dynamo in March.

Continuing their unbeaten streak in the group with three points would take El Salvador to seven, a tally that could see them leapfrog their rivals and climb up to second place, though their inferior goal difference compared to Suriname and Puerto Rico is likely to prevent them from taking top spot for now.

Anguilla World Cup Qualifying - North Central America form:

Anguilla form (all competitions):

El Salvador World Cup Qualifying - North Central America form:

El Salvador form (all competitions):

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Team News

Desperate to avoid another six-goal thrashing, Anguilla centre-backs Luke Paris and Alexander Fleming will be asking for additional cover from full-backs Kion Lee and Tjivari Leveret this weekend.

Captain, Germaine Hughes, will operate at the base of a trio featuring Aedan Scipio and Keante Brooks, while Varian Carty and Kieron Lake-Bryan provide width.

Up top, striker Jauron Gayle will be looking to score a rare goal for his side, but considering his team's failure to net at all in Group F, it would come as a surprise. 

As for El Salvador, Darwin Ceren should start at the heart of Gomez's midfield, flanked by Melvin Cartagena and Brayan Landaverde.

Against Guatemala, 16-year-old Brandon Ramirez became the youngest player to score for Los Cuscatlecos, but Emerson Mauricio is likely to start at centre-forward, with Jairo Henriquez and Santos Ortiz out wide.

Anguilla possible starting lineup:

Lawrence; Lee, Paris, Fleming, Leveret; Hughes; Carty, Scipio, Brooks, Lake-Bryan; Gayle

El Salvador possible starting lineup:

Gonzalez; Tamacas, Sibrian, Cruz, Flores; Cartagena, Ceren, Landaverde; Henriquez, Mauricio, Ortiz 

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We say: Anguilla 0-3 El Salvador

 

Anguilla have struggled throughout their qualifying campaign, and they are likely to be on the end of another major defeat this weekend given that they have conceded 18 goals across their three games so far.

Additionally, El Salvador have been strong on the road in recent months, and they will be expecting to add another three points to their tally on Saturday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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