Morocco continue their preparations for the upcoming World Cup as they visit the Benito Villamarin Stadium on Tuesday to face Paraguay in the second of their two friendly games against South American nations.
The 1976 Africa Cup of Nations champions head into the midweek matchup fresh off the back of a comfortable victory over Chile and will be eyeing a fifth consecutive win across all competitions.
Match preview
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Paraguay picked up consecutive victories for the first time since 2013 as they saw off United Arab Emirates 1-0 when the sides met at the Stadion Wiener Neustadt on Friday.
Following a drab first half, Corinthians defender Fabian Balbuena came up clutch for La Albirroja as he scored the only goal of the game with five minutes left to play to see off Rodolfo Arruabarrena's side.
Prior to that, Guillermo Barros Schelotto's side saw their three-game winless run come to an end on September 1 when they secured an impressive 1-0 victory over Mexico at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium courtesy of a 50th-minute strike from former Benfica man Derlis Gonzalez.
Paraguay finished eighth in the World Cup qualifiers with 16 points from 18 games, failing to qualify for the quadrennial showpiece since the 2010 edition, where they enjoyed a sensational run to the quarter-finals before losing 1-0 against Spain.
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Morocco, on the other hand, continued their fine run of form ahead of the upcoming World Cup as they claimed a 2-0 victory over Chile when the sides squared off at the RCDE Stadium last Friday.
Sofiane Boufal neatly executed his 52nd-minute penalty to put the Atlas Lions ahead before Sampdoria midfielder Abdelhamid Sabiri made sure of the result with a 78th-minute strike.
This followed a comfortable victory over Jamaica in August's friendly clash at Austria's Ernst Happel Stadion, where Ahmed Hammoudan, Mohammed Nahiri and twenty-year-old Reda Slim all found the target to see off the Reggae Boyz.
Morocco have now won each of their most recent four games across all competitions — including successive wins over South Africa and Liberia in Group K of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers back in June — scoring nine goals and keeping three clean sheets in that time.
Walid Regragui's side, who have been drawn into Group F of the World Cup, alongside Belgium, Canada and Croatia, are currently on a run of five wins from their last six friendly games since the start of 2021, with a 3-0 loss to USA on June 2 being the only exception.
Team News
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Balbuena was a standout performer against United Arab Emirates last week and the Corinthians defender should marshal the defence once again, forming a centre-back pairing with Brazil-based Gustavo Gomez.
CSKA Moscow midfielder Jesus Medina came off the bench to good effect as he set up the winning goal and the former New York City FC man will push for a starting role in the centre of the park.
In the final third, Newcastle United star Miguel Almiron should retain his role in the starting XI, while Derlis Gonzalez and Brighton and Hove Albion youngster Julio Enciso should spearhead the attack.
Despite guiding Morocco to the World Cup, Vahid Halilhodzic was relieved of his role as head coach by the Moroccan Football Federation in August, bringing an end to his three-year stint in charge.
Newly-appointed Regragui called up a large 31-man squad for the friendlies and could name an unchanged starting XI on Tuesday after picking up his first win in charge of the Atlas Lions against Chile last time.
A surprise inclusion in the Morocco set-up is Chelsea forward Hakim Ziyech, who has been recalled for the friendlies after a 15-month exile due to a falling out with former manager Halilhodzic.
Ziyech, whose last appearance for Morocco came in a 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso in June 2021, should start in attack once again, alongside Boufal and Sevilla's Youssef En-Nesyri, who is 10th in the nation's all-time goal scoring chart with 14 goals in 48 caps.
At the opposite end of the pitch, En-Nesyri's Sevilla teammate Yassine Bounou should stand between the sticks once again, with Noussair Mazraoui, Achraf Dari, Romain Saiss and Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi forming the defence line.
Paraguay possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Ramirez, Gomez, Balbuena, Arzamendia; Villasanti, Melgarejo; Galarza, Almiron, Gonzalez; Enciso
Morocco possible starting lineup:
Bono; Mazraoui, Dari, Saiss, Hakimi; Amrabat, Ounahi; Ziyech, Amallah, Boufal; En-Nesyri
We say: Paraguay 1-3 Morocco
Morocco have put together a fine run of form and will be looking to take this impressive run into the World Cup. They boast a star-studded squad and, while Paraguay are no walkovers, we predict that the Atlas Lions will come out victorious in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
