Paraguay and Uruguay will battle to confirm their place at next summer's World Cup when they face off in Asuncion in CONMEBOL qualifying on Thursday night.
Both nations are tied on 21 points, six clear of Venezuela outside the top six, with the two fully expected to reach the 2026 finals in North America.
Match preview
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Paraguay can lay claim to being the story of qualifying if they get over the line and reach a first World Cup since 2010.
Gustavo Alfaro's men did little to excite neutrals early in the campaign, scoring two and conceding three in their first nine qualifiers, but they have turned on the style in recent games and now are in a very strong position in the section.
The last five games have been the polar opposite, with La Albirroja scoring nine and picking up an impressive 11 points, to move a long way clear inside the top six, and automatic qualification.
Paraguay enjoyed great results in March in particular, coming from two goals down to draw in Colombia, a few days after beating Chile at home.
That means Alfaro's men rank third in terms of home form across qualifying, having won five of their seven matches here, and losing just once.
Out of all the top-six nations though, none have a trickier finish than Paraguay, because they still have to welcome Uruguay and in-form Ecuador to Asuncion, while they will also make the trip to Brazil next week.
Uruguay have proven difficult opponents for Paraguay, edging a few low-scoring encounters of late, including here in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, and at the 2021 Copa America, where La Celeste won both 1-0.
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However, two of the last three qualifiers have ended 0-0, including the reverse in September, a result which kickstarted a worrying run of form for Marcelo Bielsa's men.
Since the Copa America last summer, Uruguay's form has been woeful, and they are fortunate that six teams will qualify automatically, and that they picked up so many points earlier in the section.
A win over Colombia in November is their solitary success in 12 months, with the other seven fixtures since yielding just five points, and one goal.
Uruguay did well to draw 0-0 away to Bolivia at El Alto in March, but that came a few days after losing at home to Argentina, who are now 10 points ahead of them, when there was little to split the two before the Copa.
Beating Venezuela next week will be enough to seal qualification, but better performances will be required if Uruguay want to go into the finals next summer with any confidence of improving on their group stage exit in 2022.
Team News
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There are not many changes to the Paraguay squad from the one named in March, with Alex Arce and Saul Salcedo the only players to miss out this time around.
Mathias Villasanti is on course to win his 50th cap in this one, while there could be a first for Ruben Lezcano, who has recently made an eye-catching move to Fluminense in Brazil.
Isidro Pitta is the man in-form among the Paraguay players, and that could earn him a start, as he has scored three goals and registered an assist across his last 125 minutes of action for Brazilian title-challengers Bragantino.
Federico Valverde has pulled out of the Uruguay squad in order to focus on Real Madrid's upcoming Club World Cup campaign.
A trip to Asia with Manchester United was not enough for Manuel Ugarte to consider withdrawing though, as the midfielder has joined up with the squad following that post-season tour.
Giorgian De Arrascaeta will be the one to watch here, as he has been in scintillating form at Flamengo, and is the current Brazilian Serie A top scorer this season.
Paraguay possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Caceres, Balbuena, Alderete, Alonso; Galarza, Gomez, Cubas, Almiron; Pitta, Enciso
Uruguay possible starting lineup:
Rochet; Nandez, R Araujo, Gimenez, Olivera; De la Cruz, Bentancur, De Arrascaeta; Pellistri, Nunez, M Araujo
We say: Paraguay 0-0 Uruguay
Paraguay may have started to play more expansive football of late, but they are still a solid team defensively, and should be able to keep Uruguay at bay here.
Uruguay have drawn a blank in six of their last eight qualifiers, and need to improve across all areas of the pitch, after falling a long way off Argentina since last summer, and this will be a tricky examination again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
