Uruguay is hosting Peru at Estadio Centenario in round 17 of the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifications. Uruguay is on the World Cup spot right now, but that could easily change after this game. Peru is only 1 point behind Uruguay, which means they need a positive result here or the win to take over their spot.
Since they made the coaching change, Uruguay has 2 wins in a row, and thanks to that they have climbed to 4th place in these qualifications. Offensively, Uruguay is averaging just over 1 scored goal per game, and Suarez is their leading goalscorer with 7 goals. De Arrascaeta has added 4 goals. Pretty much most of their players are healthy, but Cavani is still questionable for this game. On paper, Uruguay is a much better team, they have more depth, and they have more quality, but their overall performance hasn’t been the best in these qualifications. If Uruguay gets a positive result here, they will most likely end up going to the World Cup, but if they don’t, this might get dangerous for them.
Peru has been decent in these qualifications so far, they are undefeated in their last 7 games, but their spot is still not secured. With 21 points, Peru is now in 5th place, which is the spot that will get them to the additional qualifications. Offensively, Peru doesn’t have a lot of firepowers, but they have scored 17 goals in 16 games. When it comes to defending, Peru is not a bad team, they have conceded 21 goals in 16 games. Cueva has scored 5 goals for Peru so far in these qualifications, while Carillo has added 3 goals. There are a few good players playing for Peru, but they have a lot less depth than Uruguay does, and they are on the road here. With a positive result here, Peru will buy themselves a chance to get to 4th place, but if they lose, they will be lucky if they stay in 5th place.
The trends are pretty even in this matchup, and I think this will be a fairly tight game. If either team scores a goal, this game will open up. I don’t think we will see many goals here, but I will take at least 1 goal on each side.