After the huge disappointment of crashing out of the 2022 World Cup at the group stage, something they had not done since 2002, Uruguay sacked coach Diego Alonso and eventually hired Marcelo Bielsa in May 2023.

Bielsa has had a fantastic impact on the Uruguayan national team, losing five of his 19 games in charge in all competitions and leading the team to a third-place finish at the 2024 Copa America.

Uruguay won all three of their matches in the group stage, including a remarkable penalty shoot-out victory over Brazil in the quarter-finals, but despite having 62% of the possession in the semi-finals, they were unable to capitalise as they lost 1-0 to Colombia.

They narrowly beat Canada on penalties in the third-place play-off after Luis Suarez's 92nd-minute equaliser forced a shootout, which Uruguay won 4-2.

Going into matchdays seven and eight of South American FIFA World Cup qualifying, Bielsa's side sit in a solid second place with 13 points from six games and will be looking to consolidate their position with two positive results over the international break.

Their opponents, Paraguay, will be low on confidence going into Saturday's game after a terrible Copa America, in which they were knocked out at the group stage for the first time since 2016.

They were beaten 2-1 by Colombia, 4-1 by Brazil and 2-1 by Costa Rica to finish bottom of the group without a point, leading to the sacking of coach Daniel Oscar Garnero.

Gustavo Alfaro has taken over and will lead Paraguay in his first game in charge when they take on Uruguay on Saturday, and the Argentine will be hoping to lead Paraguay to their first win in this fixture since 2007.

Uruguay possible starting lineup:

Rochet; Nandez, Caceres, Bueno, Saracchi; Valverde, Ugarte; Pellistri, Torres, Araujo; Suarez

Paraguay possible starting lineup:

Morinigo; Velazquez, Balbuena, Alderete, Espinoza; Villasanti, Bobadilla; Almiron, Enciso, Sosa; Sanabria

Prediction:Uruguay 3-0 Paraguay

Uruguay VS Paraguay stream and TV listing

International：Holasports