After an exhilarating first round of matches in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, Venezuela will welcome Paraguay to Estadio Monumental de Maturin for a gameweek two encounter on Tuesday night.
The hosts will be hoping to secure their first points in these qualifiers on their home patch here, while the visitors will feel they are in with a real chance of registering their first win of the competition against this opponent.
Match preview
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Venezuela come into this match following a 1-0 loss to Colombia on Friday night at Estadio Metropolitano, which leaves them in seventh place in the standings in the early stages of qualifying.
However, the scoreline in that match perhaps does not tell the full story as the visitors were clearly outplayed for large parts of the match with just two attempts on target and only managed 29% possession across the 90 minutes.
While that result was the first loss Fernando Batista's side have conceded in their last eight matches, it is worth noting that the previous seven fixtures were all friendly fixtures, while each of their last four competitive encounters have ended in defeat.
The hosts finished at the bottom of the standings in the last CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, managing just 10 points in 18 matches with three wins and a draw while losing the other 14 matches.
Venezuela have never qualified for the World Cup since their first attempt back in 1958, and based on their recent form in competitive matches, they are likely to struggle to do so this time as well.
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Meanwhile, Paraguay were involved in the only drawn match in the first round of qualifiers, playing out a stalemate against Peru at Estadio Antonio Aranda on Friday evening.
That result sees them come into this match in fifth place in the qualification standings, while they have also kept clean sheets in the last two matches, following a 2-0 win over Nicaragua back in June this year.
However, while the visitors did get a point from their last match, they will likely see that result as a missed opportunity since they played the entire second half of the match with a man advantage after Luis Advincula was sent off.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto's side fired an incredible 19 shots at goal with six on target but were unable to find the net, while their opponents were unable to register a single effort on target the entire match.
Still, that gives them a decent platform to build on, and they will be confident coming into this fixture as they have a solid record against this opponent, beating them in both matches in the last World Cup qualifying campaign.
Team News
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Jefferson Savarino had very little impact at the top end of the pitch in the last match, and the hosts looked much better after switching to a 4-4-2 with Yeferson Soteldo coming off the bench to bolster the midfield.
If the hosts maintain a three-man frontline, Josef Martinez could start in place of Savarino, while Alejandro Marques will be hoping to join him, potentially at the expense of Salomon Rondon or Darwin Machis.
Meanwhile, the visitors defensive unit stood firm in the last match, and we should see the combination of Fabian Balbuena and Gustavo Gomez start in the heart of defence in front of goalkeeper Carlos Coronel.
Newcastle United's Miguel Almiron played the full 90 minutes in the last match and is expected to start on the right-hand side of the attack, while Matias Rojas will be hoping for a starting 11 place on the opposite flank, with Carlos Gonzalez and Gabriel Avalos both vying for the number nine role.
Venezuela possible starting lineup:
Romo; Gonzalez, Osorio, Angel, Mago; Martinez, Rincon, Herrera, Soteldo; Marques, Rondon
Paraguay possible starting lineup:
Carlos; Rojas, Balbuena, Gomez, Riveros; Villasanti, Cubas, Gomez; Almiron, Avalos, Rojas
We say: Venezuela 0-1 Paraguay
While the visitors may have been unable to make the most of being a man up in the last match, their defensive solidity was evident as they starved their opponents of any clear-cut chances.
We fancy they will manage to find the net against this opposition and also expect them to keep another clean sheet here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
Argentina
Uruguay
Ecuador
Colombia
Brazil
Paraguay
Bolivia
Venezuela
Chile
Peru
