Uruguay v Chile

These sides were on the opposite ends of 1-0 results in their last outing, with early first half goals proving the difference in both games. Defeat to Argentina for the Uruguayans got them off to the worst possible start, though they still have enough games to bring it back around considering they’re one of just two teams to have played once.

Chile remain unbeaten from their two outings, with a well-earned draw against Argentina in their opener followed by a narrow 1-0 win against pointless Bolivia last time out, with Ben Brereton’s goal enough for the three points there. That means the Chileans are now unbeaten in five matches, though they’ve drawn three of those games, with both wins coming against a Bolivia side who aren’t on a level playing field with most of the South American nations. The win in their last match though gives them a great chance of qualifying from this group as they sit joined on points with Argentina at the top.

Uruguay are not in a rich vein of form at the moment by any stretch of the imagination and despite having one of the most formidable international strike partnerships of a generation, they’re looking somewhat past their best, or at least are fatigued after gruelling seasons at Europe’s top level. La Celeste are now winless in four games going back to November and although both defeats in that time came to Brazil and Argentina, draws with Paraguay and Venezuela are not what we’ve come to expect of this Uruguay side in recent years, though even more alarmingly, they’ve not managed to find the net in any of those games. Edinson Cavani had indeed served a suspension for the goalless draws in that time, though a distinct lack of output both before and since his absence should be cause for concern.

La Roja, on the other hand, have now scored in each of their last 10 outings, and it can’t be said that they rely on anyone in particular for output like the Uruguayans, with their last seven goals all being scored by different players, while seven of La Celeste’s last nine goals have come from either Luis Suarez or Cavani, and that should be an area of focus for Chile in order to come out on top here.

Uruguay have won the last two head-to-heads, though both relied on goal in the final 10 minutes to take a narrow one goal win, and that’s not convincing enough for us to get behind them here based on that recent record. In truth, there’s little to separate these sides, though a draw wouldn’t be the worst result for either, and even less so for Chile and we can see these two playing out a low scoring affair.

Draw @ 3.2