Matchday 3 of the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers is here, and with it, a couple of interesting matches will be taking place this Friday. First off, Bolivia and Venezuela will try to kick start their options of playing in the 2018 tournament when they clash in La Paz, while two of CONMEBOL's leaders, Ecuador and Uruguay, will try to continue their perfect form when they face each other in the Ecuadorian city of Quito.
Venezuela and Bolivia are currently ranked as 9th and 10th in the CONMEBOL Qualifiers, while Ecuador and Uruguay are separated by only one goal, with the Sky Blue team holding the top spot.
Bolivia vs Venezuela
Just when things seemed to get better for Bolivia after last summer's Copa América, a number of controversies have emerged against coach Julio César Valdivieso. Two of the team's top performers, such as Ronald Raldes and Marcelo Moreno-Martins have decided to step aside, taking a leave of absence from their international duties. Facing them will be Venezuela, a team that will struggle without their long-time leader, Juan Arango, who recently retired from La Vinotinto. Evidently, Bolivia will strongly depend on what some of their young players like Moisés Villarroel and Jhasmani Campos can do for them, while Venezuelan striker Salomon Rondón will want to have a huge influence in the game's outcome, such as he usually has with West Bromwich Albion.
Furthermore, Venezuela's defense will want Oswaldo Vizcarrondo to show his experience, since the player's recent performances at the back have not been as brilliant as Nantes' center back had shown before.
Head to head: These teams have played against each other 28 times, with the Bolivians making the most of their meetings with 12 wins. Venezuela has won nine times and their games have ended six times with an even score.
Ecuador vs Uruguay
The current leader, Uruguay, will travel once more to Quito to establish themselves as the only team with a perfect pace in this World Cup Qualifiers. Oscar Tavarez's men have shown shades of the team that marvelled the world back in the 2010 World Cup, and they've done it without household names such as Luis Suarez, who is still unavailable due to a lenghty ban set by FIFA. Uruguay's six points came after an away victory against Bolivia (2-0) and a home win facing Colombia (3-0). Only three teams are yet to concede their first goal in these qualifiers, and if Uruguay can keep it that way, their chances of success will rise.
As for the hosts, Ecuador bagged six points thanks to a historical 2-0 win against Argentina, giving Bolivia the same treatment Uruguay did (2-0). The downside for Gustavo Quinteros' side will be the high number of absentees, including West Ham's Enner Valencia, Club America's Micky Arroyo and Manchester United's Antonio Valencia.
Head to head: Uruguay has the upper hand when playing against Ecuador, winning 28 of the 43 games between them. Ecuador has only been able to defeat Uruguay five times, with ten games ending up with a draw. Despite all these facts, their previous meeting had La Tricolor winning 1-0 on October 11, 2013, helping them reach the 2014 World Cup.
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