Venezuela and Bolivia will meet on Friday night in one of the most important South American World Cup qualifiers of the month, with both teams on the fringe of qualifying. Both countries will be hoping to break through to the top six in the late stages of the tournament, but both know their best option is to make the playoffs.

Venezuela will play in Maturin on Friday, but they have no idea how sixth-placed Colombia will perform against Peru, so Fernando Batista's team will definitely need help from the two-color team on Matchday 15. La Vinotinto has never qualified for the World Cup and is the only CONMEBOL team to fail to qualify, but the new expansion format offers them the best chance of reaching the final.

Venezuela topped the play-offs earlier this month, one point ahead of upcoming opponents Bolivia but five points behind Colombia in the final automatic promotion spot. This has been one of the best qualifiers for La Vinotinto so far, thanks to their unbeaten home campaign, which has earned them 13 points from seven games in Maturin. However, the lack of wins has been painful, as the 1-0 win over Peru in March was their first in 10 games, and their away form has been particularly disappointing.

Batista's side lost against Bolivia and Chile, ranked below them, conceding four goals in both games, as they have even scored fewer points away from home (two) than Bolivia (three), a country notoriously known for having one of the worst away record in international football. The hosts have an excellent home record against Bolivia, though, winning all six of their 21st century qualifiers. That makes Venezuela the favourites, as Bolivia have lost six of their seven away games in the division, with only one surprise: a 2-1 upset win in Chile, their first away win in 67 qualifiers, making it an exception.

Bolivia's hopes will be dashed if they lose here, as that would leave them four points behind Venezuela, with Oscar Villegas' side having conceded 13 goals in three straight away defeats since their win in Chile. If they lose again in the next two games, it will be crucial to beat Chile and Brazil, who are unbeaten in four games in El Alto, in their final two home games, but even that may not be enough to secure a playoff spot.

Venezuela predicted starting lineup:

Romo; Gonzalez, Ferraresi, Angel, Aramburu; Savarino, Herrera, Caceres, Soteldo; Josef Martínez, Rondon

Bolivia predicted starting lineup:

Vizcarra; Medina, Jaquin, Morales, R. Fernandez; Villamil, Cuellar, E. Vaca, Robson Matthews; Algaranaz-Miglito