With one out of 18 fixture days complete in South America, the teams are at it again tomorrow. Home team listed first as usual.
Bolivia v Colombia
Bolivia opened its qualifying campaign away to Uruguay and were beaten soundly, 4-2. However, the team returns home to its fortress in La Paz, where they are rarely beaten. No team wants to start out with two losses and look for Marcelo Martins to add to his goalscoring tally.
Colombia was the South American side with a bye during the first matchday, so they begin their campaign tomorrow on the road. Leonel Alvarez is the new coach for Colombia, who took over in late Auguest. Colombia should be one of the sides battling for the playoff spot and needs a positive start.
Prediction: Bolivia 2 Colombia 1
Chile v Peru
Chile is eager to get its first win of the competition after being torn apart by Argentina over the weekend. The always attacking Chileans hope that offense will be a good defense in the match. These two teams met at the Copa America over the summer and saw Chile come away with a 1-0 win.
Peru caused a minor upset on Saturday with a 2-0 home win over Paraguay. Jose Guerrero had both goals in the victory. The side now travels to Chile and if they get a result, it is time to start taking Peru seriously as a contender for qualification. Unfortunately, the side will find it tough to obtain a point.
Prediction: Chile 3 Peru 1
Paraguay v Uruguay
Paraguay slumped to the defeat in Peru and now needs to face one of the hottest teams in the world in neighbor Uruguay. They went down to the same opposition 3-0 in the Copa America final. While a loss here is not the end of the world, it would leave them in a hole to climb out of early.
Uruguay is riding high after its 4-2 opening triumph over Bolivia and its devastating attack is looking for more. They will be very confident of getting a win in Paraguay after dispatching them easily in the Copa America final. Uruguay can end a very successful week with three points in Paraguay and stay up at the top of the table.
Prediction: Paraguay 0 Uruguay 2
Venezuela v Argentina
Venezuela was hoping to take its first step to completing its leap from CONMEBOL afterthought to World Cup participant in its opener in Ecuador, but had a poor performance in a 2-0 defeat. They want to avoid an 0-2 start, but will find it incredibly difficult with a buzzing Argentina side coming in.
Argentina put to bed any worries of a lack of chemistry with a resounding 4-1 win over a strong Chile side. Lionel Messi continues to demonstrate why he is the best player in the world. They will be confident of a win in Venezuela, and with its powerful offense, Argentina can score almost at will.
Prediction: Venezuela 2 Argentina 4
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