Venezuela and Bolivia meet in one of the most important CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers this month on Friday night between two sides on the fringes of qualification.
Both nations have one eye on an unlikely late surge for the top six, but they will know their best bet is to go through the playoffs.
Match preview
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Venezuela will take to the field in Maturin on Friday without knowing for sure how sixth-place Colombia have fared against Peru, and Fernando Batista's men certainly need a favour from the Bicolour on matchday 15.
La Vinotinto have never qualified for a World Cup, being the only CONMEBOL nation not to have done so, but the new expanded format offers them their best chance yet to reach the finals.
Venezuela start the month in the playoff place, one point ahead of upcoming opponents Bolivia, but five behind Colombia in the final automatic qualifying spot.
This has been one of the Vinotinto's finest qualifying campaigns to date, aided by the fact they are still unbeaten at home, taking 13 points from their seven matches in Maturin.
A lack of wins has been costly though, because a 1-0 success over Peru in March was their first in 10 games, and it has been their away form in particular that has been underwhelming.
Batista's men lost in Bolivia and Chile, two nations below them in the standings, conceding four goals on both occasions, as they have even less points (two) on the road than Bolivia (three), who are notoriously among the worst travellers in international football.
The hosts' head-to-head record at home to Bolivia is supreme though, winning all six of their qualifiers on home soil against La Verde in the 21st century.
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That will make Venezuela favourites for this, and also because Bolivia have lost six of their seven away matches in the section, with a shock 2-1 win in Chile, their first on the road in 67 qualifiers, being the outlier.
Bolivia's hopes could fade if they fall to defeat here, as that would drop them four points behind Venezuela, and since winning in Chile, Oscar Villegas's side have conceded 13 goals in three successive away defeats.
Should another defeat follow here, then beating Chile and Brazil in their final two home games at El Alto, where they remain unbeaten after four matches, will be paramount, and even then, that may not be enough for a playoff place.
Team News
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Venezuela could hand a debut to Lazio youngster Alessandro Milani, who at the age of 19, has committed his international future to the Vinotinto, instead of Italy.
Yeferson Soteldo is set to make his 50th appearance for the national team, while record cap holder Tomas Rincon will earn his 142nd cap if he leads the side out here.
Salomon Rondon will be the one to watch for the hosts, given he has five goals in his last two appearances against Bolivia, netting a hat trick in their home qualifier for the 2022 World Cup.
Bolivia will have to make do without Jose Sagredo and Luis Paz in defence, while Ramiro Vaca and Boris Cespedes are also missing from the engine room.
In what is a very inexperienced squad, no outfield player has more than 50 caps, but they do possess one of the most in-form players in CONMEBOL qualifying in the form of Miguelito.
The Santos attacker has enjoyed more game time on loan at America Mineiro in Brazil's Serie B this season, scoring and assisting in his previous club outing, as well as poaching his fifth goal in qualifying in the win over Peru in March.
Venezuela possible starting lineup:
Romo; Gonzalez, Ferraresi, Angel, Aramburu; Savarino, Herrera, Casseres, Soteldo; Josef Martinez, Rondon
Bolivia possible starting lineup:
Viscarra; Medina, Haquin, Morales, R Fernandez; Villamil, Cuellar, E Vaca, Robson Matheus; Miguelito, Algaranaz
We say: Venezuela 2-0 Bolivia
Bolivia's away form has been woeful of late, losing three in a row and conceding 13 goals in the process, and their focus will be on trying to snatch a 0-0 draw, before looking to beat Chile next week in the lofty heights of El Alto.
Venezuela will see this as a huge opportunity to keep their automatic qualification hopes alive, but a win will also go a long way to help securing at least a playoff spot next spring, if a top-six finish proves to be insurmountable.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
