Uruguay vs Ecuador Preview & Prediction | 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (CONMEBOL)
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Uruguay will look to bounce back from last week's shock defeat to Peru as they welcome a stubborn Ecuador side to Montevideo.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Wednesday 16th October, 2024: UK – 12:30am / US ET – 7:30pm (Tuesday) / US PT – 4:30pm (Tuesday)
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Not televised / US – Not televised
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – bet365 / US – Fanatiz
URUGUAY PREVIEW: SCORELESS RUN CONTINUES
Suspension-hit Uruguay suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Peru last week, which made it three qualifiers in succession that Marcelo Bielsa's men have failed to find the net.
La Celeste still very much have their World Cup destiny in their own hands though, as they sit in third place heading into the second round of October fixtures, and they are also unbeaten at home in the current qualifying cycle with three wins and a draw on home turf so far.
ECUADOR PREVIEW: TOUGH TO BEAT
Ecuador themselves are looking like strong contenders to make it to the 2026 finals, with only Argentina having lost fewer games than them in the current CONMEBOL qualifying campaign.
Last week saw Sebastian Beccacece's side play out a goalless stalemate at home to Paraguay, and they now face a Uruguay side they have beaten four times in the last seven meetings between the two sides.
URUGUAY TEAM NEWS: GIMENEZ & OLIVERA AVAILABLE
In welcome news to Bielsa, Jose Maria Gimenez and Matias Olivera have completed their bans and both should return to the starting line-up. With Gimenez set to be used in defence, Man Utd's Manuel Ugarte is likely to be pushed forward into his more familiar midfield role.
Ronald Araujo is also now free of suspension but an injury has prevented his inclusion in the Uruguay squad this time around.
PREDICTED XI (3-5-2): Rochet; Varela, Gimenez, Bueno; Nandez, Valverde, Ugarte, De Arrascaeta, M. Olivera; C. Olivera, Nunez
UNAVAILABLE: Bentancur (Suspended), Caceres (Injured), Olaza (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
ECUADOR TEAM NEWS: CAICEDO SET FOR 50TH CAP
There are no fresh injury concerns for Beccacece here following the stalemate with Paraguay, meaning an unchanged line-up could well be on the cards.
Should he feature as expected, Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo, will earn his 50th international cap in this fixture.
PREDICTED XI (3-4-2-1): Galindez; Torres, Pacho, Hincapie; Preciado, Franco, Caicedo, Estupinan; Plata, Paez: Valencia
UNAVAILABLE:
QUESTIONABLE:
KEY STATS
- Uruguay have never lost a World Cup qualifying match at home against Ecuador (W8 D3).
- Uruguay have won five and drawn one of their last six World Cup qualifying matches at home.
- Uruguay have lost only one of their last 11 World Cup qualifying matches at home (W7 D3).
- Uruguay have not conceded a goal in their last three World Cup qualifying matches at home.
- Ecuador have lost only one of their last eight World Cup qualifying matches (W4 D3).
- Ecuador have kept five clean sheets in their last six World Cup qualifying matches.
- Ecuador have won four of their last six World Cup qualifying matches against Uruguay (L2).
URUGUAY VS ECUADOR PREDICTION
Ecuador actually have a fairly decent record in recent times against Uruguay, and they certainly won't fear their opponents given that they won the reverse fixture in October.
The hosts, as illustrated by last week's defeat to Peru, are clearly missing their suspended players and there was a distinct lack of rhythm in their play in that defeat. If they deliver a similar display here, then Ecuador are more than capable of taking advantage. With this in mind, draw no bet on the visitors is worth considering in this one.
URUGUAY VS ECUADOR TIP: ECUADOR DRAW NO BET
