Colombiavs.Chile

Los Cafeteros became the second victims of Bolivia's switch to a new higher-altitude venue, while Chile slipped to the foot of the table after a late defeat on matchday nine.

Match preview

A run of 31 games without defeat in 90 minutes - including the entirety of Nestor Lorenzo's reign in charge - came to an end for Colombia on Thursday, when they suffered defeat in El Alto, losing 1-0 to 10-man Bolivia.

Having a man advantage for 70 minutes and not capitalising on it will be hugely disappointing for Lorenzo, who had seen his side move into second following a fine win over Argentina last month.

Colombia remain in second though, as Uruguay also lost last week, and the gap to Argentina at the top is only three points, as the Albiceleste dropped points too in what was a bad matchday for the top three.

The gap to the playoff place has shortened to five points, but Colombia will still be heavily fancied to progress after surprisingly missing out on the 2022 finals.

Playing at home has often yielded much better results for the hosts, as Colombia have taken 10 points from a possible 12 in Barranquilla in this campaign, however, Chile have proven difficult opponents over the years, winning only once at home to their upcoming opponents since 2001.

Chile are a much different team now though, as yet another defeat on Thursday saw them fall into last position in the CONMEBOL standings.

A 17th defeat in their last 20 meetings with Brazil has caused that, and it was a painful one for the Chileans to stomach, considering they led early on after Eduardo Vargas's goal in just over 60 seconds, but lost thanks to a 89th-minute strike from Luiz Henrique.

Peru's win over Uruguay means they have leapfrogged Ricardo Gareca's side, and the new manager is struggling to put much of an imprint on a side that was struggling long before his arrival.

Gareca did oversee one of Chile's worst results in recent memory last month though, becoming the first side to lose an away qualifier against Bolivia in 31 years, and dropping three points there will make it extremely difficult for them to recover, unless they snatch a very unlikely victory here.

Considering their only win so far came against fellow strugglers Peru at home last year suggests there is not much down for Chile here, as they are staring down the barrel at a fifth straight qualifying defeat.

Colombia World Cup Qualifying - South America form:

D

W

W

D

W

L

Colombia form (all competitions):

W

W

L

D

W

L

Chile World Cup Qualifying - South America form:

L

D

L

L

L

L

Chile form (all competitions):

D

L

D

L

L

L

Team News

Colombia will be able to welcome back Jhon Duran after he missed the fixture in Bolivia through suspension, and an injury to Roger Martinez in the first half on Thursday means it will be straightforward to accommodate the Aston Villa man.

Willer Ditta started ahead of both Davinson Sanchez and Yerry Mina at centre-back last week, winning just his second cap, but following defeat, Lorenzo could go with a more experienced option this time around.

The same could be said in the centre of midfield, as it was slightly surprising to see Jefferson Lerma and Richard Rios both left on the bench, with the two in contention to start on home soil.

Following the awful results in September, Gareca rung the changes in his Chile squad this month, and his new-look side could look rather similar to the one that came so close to a point against Brazil.

Goalkeeper Gabriel Arias and the experienced Mauricio Isla were both dropped, and the latter's replacement at right-back, Felipe Loyola, provided the assist for Vargas's goal on Thursday.

Alexis Sanchez has been out injured since moving back to Udinese over the summer, while the visitors are also without Matias Catalan at the back, and Vicente Pizarro in the engine room.

Colombia possible starting lineup:

Vargas; S Arias, Mina, Lucumi, Borja; Uribe, Lerma, Rios; James, Duran, Diaz

Chile possible starting lineup:

Cortes; Loyola, Kuscevic, Maripan, Galdames; Valdes, Pavez, Echeverria; Osorio, Davila, Vargas

We say: Colombia 2-0 Chile

After a treacherous trip to Bolivia, Colombia will be glad of the home comforts in Barranquilla and should bounce back to maintain their spot in the top two.

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