Chilean outfit Everton will travel to Bolivia to take on Jorge Wilstermann on Wednesday in the final round of Copa Sudamericana group fixtures.
With only one side progressing from each group, the two teams cannot go any further, with the visitors confined to a second-placed finish and their hosts vying for a first win of the competition.
Match preview
After finishing seventh in the Bolivian top flight last season, Jorge Wilstermann headed into a knockout tie to book their place in the Copa Sudamericana group stage, and, after a 4-0 home win over Guabira, they were run a lot closer than expected as they just clung on to go through despite a 3-0 away defeat.
They have not enjoyed a strong group campaign since, amassing just two points and failing to win a game thus far, as they firstly drew with Wednesday's opponents before suffering consecutive defeats at the hands of Ayacucho and Sao Paulo.
The Aviador then forced a goalless stalemate away at the former, before most recently being thrashed 3-0 away at Sao Paulo with Rodrigo Nestor helping himself to an early brace before Patrick added a third at the beginning of the second half.
While their poor form has ruled Jorge Wilstermann out of contention in the group, they can still overtake Ayacucho with a victory on Wednesday, and, in the midst of an underwhelming domestic campaign, they will look to gain a degree of confidence with a win to round out the group stage.
Everton began their continental campaign in Copa Libertadores qualifying, and they progressed past Monagas before falling short in the final round against Estudiantes, as they suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats.
As a result, they dropped into the Copa Sudamericana group stage, and Los oro y cielo began with a draw against Jorge Wilstermann and a defeat to Sao Paulo, putting them firmly on the back foot in the race for qualification against the heavily-fancied Brazilian side.
Francisco Meneghini's side have since improved their form, though, as they put a first win of the campaign on the board against Ayacucho, thanks to a Rodrigo Echeverria brace, before holding Sao Paulo to a goalless stalemate in Chile.
Everton then took their tally to eight points for the group stage in the reverse fixture against Ayacucho in their latest continental outing, with Lucas Di Yorio and Matias Campos Lopez firing them to a 2-0 win, but, with only one qualification place in each group and Sao Paulo showing relentless form, they are unable to progress.
Having also struggled domestically so far this term, currently sitting ninth in their top flight, Meneghini's side will at least look to end on a high with another victory to finish second on a commendable tally of 11 points.
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Team News
Jorge Wilstermann forward Andres Chavez has struggled to establish himself in the starting side in the Copa Sudamericana this season, but with seven goals in 14 appearances across all competitions, he will be vying to crack the XI.
Centre-back Santiago Echeverria has featured in every minute of their continental campaign thus far, and he will again play at the heart of a back five, with Edemir Rodriguez and Ronny Montero also expected to keep their spots.
Striker Lucas Di Yorio will be pushing to feature for the outset for Everton, having come off the bench to open the scoring in their win over Ayacucho.
He could partner Matias Campos Lopez, who netted his first goal of the season in that triumph.
John Salas, Julio Barroso and Joaquin Lopez should again line up across the defence, with Meneghini unlikely to make too many changes heading into the final group game.
Jorge Wilstermann possible starting lineup:
Poveda; Dos Santos, Rodriguez, Echeverria, Montero, Perez; Castro, Morales, Anez; Osorio, Chavez
Everton possible starting lineup:
De Paul; Salas, Barroso, Lopez; Medina, Sanchez, Reyes, Moya, Ibacache; Campos Lopez, Di Yorio
We say: Jorge Wilstermann 1-3 Everton
Considering the two sides' form in the competition, we see the Chilean side having too much for their hosts on Wednesday.
Jorge Wilstermann come in lacking any momentum having struggled domestically and on the continent, and they could be brushed aside by an Everton team who have given a good account of themselves this campaign.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
