Preview:Colombia vs Bolivia - prediction, team news, lineups

Bolivia will make the trip to Barranquilla hoping to snatch a result away to Colombia on Thursday night in the pursuit for a playoff spot in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying.

It now appears to be a two-horse race for seventh place in the section, which will advance one nation through to the inter-continental playoffs in the spring, with Bolivia battling against Venezuela for that honour.

Match preview

While Colombia are not yet assured of their place at the World Cup, it is unfathomable to see a scenario which will see them fail to make it from this position.

With two matches remaining, the gap to Venezuela in seventh is a healthy four points, with a much stronger goal difference to boot, and simply matching La Vinotinto’s result here will seal their place.

No matter what Venezuela do though, Colombia are huge favourites to win at home against a side notorious for being woeful on the road.

It is the perfect fixture for Nestor Lorenzo’s men, who have not won a match since October, taking a meagre three points from their last six qualifiers.

While it is near impossible for them to miss out, poor results or performances against Bolivia and Venezuela this month will make for some uncomfortable conversations ahead of next summer’s finals surrounding Lorenzo’s future, which would have been scarcely believable 12 months ago, after the brilliant start he made, taking them to the Copa America final.

June’s fixtures again brought disappointment, as Los Cafeteros were unable to beat strugglers Peru at home, and were then pegged back by 10-man Argentina on the road a few days later, only taking a point after leading for much of the evening.

This fixture will provide the opportunity to exact revenge on Bolivia, as Colombia suffered greatly in the reverse, being one of the first sides to go to El Alto, where they lost 1-0.

However, Bolivia have never got a point or even scored a goal away in Colombia in World Cup qualifying, which illustrates the task in front of them here.

La Verde kept their hopes of the playoffs alive by beating Chile 2-0 in a must-win encounter on matchday 16 in June, dominating their beleaguered opponents at altitude, despite playing with 10 men for 70 minutes.

It was imperative they won there, because they had lost to their playoff rivals Venezuela a few days earlier, continuing their dreadful run of results away from home.

Bolivia’s shock win in Chile earlier in the section was their first away from home in qualifying since the early 1990s, and it remains the only points they have picked up on their travels in the section.

Just one point separates Bolivia and Venezuela going into the last two matches, and they both face tricky away games on matchday 17, before playing at home a few days later.

Bolivia have a much more difficult ask, needing to better whatever Venezuela do, while also having a significantly inferior goal difference, and also needing to beat five-time World Champions Brazil to have any chance, assuming they lose here in Barranquilla.

Colombia World Cup Qualifying - South America form:

Bolivia World Cup Qualifying - South America form:

Team News

Jhon Duran is not in the Colombia squad after missing Fenerbahce’s last match before the international break, so namesake Jhon Cordoba could get the nod up front.

Cucho Hernandez is also missing along with fellow La Liga man Yaser Asprilla, but Yerson Mosquera has returned from a lengthy setback, and could be involved.

One surprising inclusion is that of Dayro Moreno, a 39-year-old striker who has not been called up for nine years, but is still showing excellent form at Once Caldas, and has finally been given another shot with Los Cafeteros.

Bolivia will be without winger Lucas Chaves due to suspension after he was sent off inside 20 minutes of their win over Chile last time out.

The visitors are still without the injured Ramiro Vaca too, while fellow midfielder Boris Cespedes has been left out once more after being released by Yverdon in Switzerland.

Miguelito is now getting plenty of game time at America Mineiro, and he is the undisputed star of this team, with six goals in 10 appearances across qualifying.

Colombia possible starting lineup:

Mier; Munoz, Sanchez, Lucumi, Borja; Rios, Lerma, J Arias; James, Cordoba, Diaz

Bolivia possible starting lineup:

Viscarra; Medina, Haquin, Morales, Fernandez; E Vaca, Robson Matheus, Cuellar; Paniagua, Villamil, Miguelito

We say: Colombia 4-0 Bolivia

Colombia know they are on the cusp of qualifying, and they will make absolutely sure of that if they can win in, statistically, the easiest game in CONMEBOL qualifying.

Bolivia’s away record in qualifying speaks for itself - seven losses and 25 goals conceded - so this could be another tough evening on the road for La Verde.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.