Peruvs.Bolivia

Jorge Fossati did not survive another poor set of results in November, which have left Los Incas rooted to the foot of the standings.

Match preview

The 0-0 draw at home with Chile was the final nail in the coffin for Fossati at the Peru helm in November, and even though he stuck around for the defeat in Argentina a few days later, the writing was already on the wall.

Oscar Ibanez arrives to take charge with Peru bottom of qualifying, with a meagre seven points to their name from their opening 12 games, and a hugely disappointing three goals.

Home form has been a real letdown even though they are unbeaten in four games here, but the unforgiving nature of CONMEBOL qualifying means wins are the minimum requirement at home, and Peru have only tasted success in one of their six home matches.

Peru will now face arguably the most important fixture of their qualifying campaign, because a home tie with Bolivia can so often be banked on for three points.

That will be the minimum requirement for new manager Ibanez, especially with the playoff place still in sight, six points back, and Chile have proven that you can claw back into contention with a couple of good results.

Recent history suggests they should perform, as they are unbeaten in 10 home matches against Bolivia, but anything less than three points will more than likely end any hopes of reaching the finals.

Bolivia won the reverse fixture 2-0, but they have not won on Peruvian soil since 1989, which is very typical of their away form.

After going 67 games without an away win in qualifying, Oscar Villegas led to them an historic success against Chile in September, but there could be a long wait for their next one.

Both away matches since that miraculous victory have ended in hefty defeats to Argentina and Ecuador, failing to score in both and shipping 10 goals.

Defeats by such a margin could be costly come the end of qualifying, given it is so tight in the race for the playoff place with Venezuela, and after dropping points in injury time at home to Paraguay last time out, Bolivia's hopes took a big blow in November.

La Verde are still in the playoff place at present, one point ahead of Venezuela, but the fixtures certainly do not favour Bolivia this month, with a clash against Uruguay coming up next week in El Alto, where they will need their opponents to suffer in the sickening altitude if they are to have any chance.

Peru World Cup Qualifying form:

D

L

W

L

D

L

Bolivia World Cup Qualifying form:

W

W

W

L

L

D

Team News

Peru have recalled 100-cap Andre Carrillo after a brief spell away from the national side, following his run of good form for Corinthians after spending six years in Saudi Arabia.

Right-back Luis Advincula is another experienced player involved and he will earn his 125th cap if he features in this one, moving to within three of the all-time record in doing so.

Alexander Callens and Wilder Cartagena will not add to their tally of appearances this month though, as both players are sidelined with injury.

Bolivia's key man Miguelito continues to get very little playing time at Santos, with his last appearance coming as a late substitute in mid-February when he replaced Neymar against Agua Santa, but he does often keep good performances in the bank when he pulls on an international shirt.

There are big changes in the frontline alongside Miguelito though, as Maltese-based pair Cesar Menacho and Gabriel Sotomayor, and Enzo Monteiro of Auda in Latvia have all been left out.

Henry Vaca and Jeyson Chura will miss out through injury, while there are four uncapped players in the squad, including promising youngster Diego Arroyo, who is on the brink of breaking out at Shakhtar Donetsk after moving from Bolivar.

Peru possible starting lineup:

Caceda; Polo, Corzo, Araujo, Advincula; Sonne, Tapia, Pena; Carrillo, Guerrero, Flores

Bolivia possible starting lineup:

Viscarra; Medina, Haquin, Sagredo, Fernandez; Robson Matheus, Cuellar, Villamil; Miguelito, Algaranaz, R Vaca

We say: Peru 1-0 Bolivia

Bolivia's away form goes a long way to explain why they are unfancied here, and their two results on the road suggest that the win in Chile was certainly a one off, and they could struggle again here.

Written by

Andrew Delaney

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