Paraguay and Uruguay will go head to head in the CONMEBOL qualifiers on Thursday night in Asuncion for a spot in next summer's World Cup. Both teams are tied on 21 points, with Venezuela six points outside the top six, and both teams are expected to reach the 2026 CONMEBOL finals.

If Paraguay can qualify and reach their first World Cup since 2010, they can become a legend in the qualifying campaign. Gustavo Alfaro's side did not excite neutral fans early in the season, scoring just two goals and conceding three in their first nine qualifying games, but they have changed their style in recent games and are now in a very strong position in the division.

The last five games have been the opposite, with Albiroha scoring nine goals and earning an impressive 11 points, moving well ahead of the top six and automatically qualifying. Paraguay have had a particularly good month in March, coming from two goals down to draw away to Colombia just days after beating Chile at home. This means Alfaro's side have the third-best home record in qualifying, having won five of their seven games here and lost just one.

Of all the top six countries, though, no result is more unpredictable than Paraguay, as they must also face Uruguay and in-form Ecuador in Asuncion, while they travel to Brazil next week. Uruguay have proven to be a tough opponent for Paraguay, with the Blues winning their last few games by narrow margins, including 2022 World Cup qualifiers and the 2021 Copa America, both of which were won 1-0.

However, two of the last three qualifiers have ended 0-0, including a comeback in September, a result that raises concerns about the form of Marcelo Bielsa's side. Uruguay have been in terrible form since last summer's Copa America, and they are lucky that six teams will automatically qualify and that they have collected so many points early in the division.

The win over Colombia in November was their only win in 12 months, and the other seven games since then have only conceded five points and one goal. Uruguay had a good performance in March, drawing 0-0 away to Bolivia in El Alto. But they lost at home to Argentina a few days ago, when Argentina was 10 points ahead of Uruguay and the gap between the two teams was not big before the Copa America. Beating Venezuela next week will be enough to ensure Uruguay's qualification, but better performances will be necessary if Uruguay hopes to reach the World Cup finals next summer and have confidence in surpassing the result of the group stage exit in 2022.

Paraguay predicted starting lineup:

Fernandez; Cáceres, Balbuena, Alderete, Alonso; Galarza, Gomez, Cubas, Almiron; Pita, Enciso

Uruguay predicted starting lineup:

Rochette; Nandez, R Araujo, Jimenez, Oliveira; De La Cruz, Bentancur, De Alascaeta; Pellistri, Nunez, M Araujo