Marcelo Bielsa will oversee his first game as the new Uruguay manager on Wednesday, when La Celeste welcome Nicaragua to Montevideo for an international friendly.

The hosts will return to action for the first time since taking on South Korea in March, while their visitors met Panama on Sunday and suffered a 3-2 defeat.

Match preview

Under the new management of Bielsa, Uruguay head into just their third outing of the calendar year on Wednesday, having most recently travelled to Asia for two games in March after a disappointing World Cup campaign.

A draw with South Korea and a defeat to Portugal in Qatar left La Celeste, then under the charge of Diego Alonso, needing a victory over Ghana in the final group game and the result in the other match in the group to go their way in order to progress to the knockout stage, and while they did triumph 2-0 thanks to a Giorgian De Arrascaeta brace, it was not enough as they bowed out in third place.

That triggered Alonso's departure, and following the turn of the year Uruguay returned to action in two games in Asia, firstly drawing 1-1 away at Japan, as Federico Valverde's first-half opener was cancelled out by a Takuma Nishimura goal, before they travelled to the Seoul World Cup Stadium to meet a South Korea side who pipped them to a World Cup round-of-16 place four months earlier.

Sebastian Coates put the South American side ahead in the 10th minute, and after In-beom Hwang drew the hosts level early in the second half, Matias Vecino found the net to restore his nation's lead and ensure they came out on top.

Now heading into a new era under the experienced Argentinian boss, Uruguay will look to kick off with a victory in Montevideo on Wednesday before meeting Cuba in another friendly on home soil next week.

They meet a Nicaragua side who will hope to pull off somewhat of an upset on their travels as preparations for the CONCACAF Gold Cup ramp up.

La Azul y Blanco were last in competitive action in March, when they rounded off a positive CONCACAF Nations League campaign in style to seal top spot in their group, firstly thrashing Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4-1 thanks to goals from Ariagner Smith, Juan Barrera, Matias Belli Moldskred and Francisco Flores, before taking on Trinidad and Tobago in the final game of Group C in League B with first place still up for grabs between the nations.

After going ahead through Smith, Nicaragua did see their hosts level the game on the stroke of half time but stood strong to see out a 1-1 away draw and finish first, before most recently returning to action away at Panama last week ahead of their upcoming tournament.

Beginning their trio of friendlies in preparation for the Gold Cup group stage starting later this month, Marco Antonio Figueroa's team twice went ahead in Llano Marin through Widman Talavera and Oscar Acevedo, but Michael Murillo levelled the game on both occasions before Roderick Miller sealed a home win with his nation's third in the final 10 minutes.

Before going into the group stage at the end of June alongside Jamaica and USA, with the final team still to be decided, Nicaragua will hope to put a confidence-boosting win on the board in Montevideo on Wednesday before facing Paraguay in their final friendly.

Team News

The Uruguay team that has been called up for this pair of friendlies is certainly different to the one that headed into the World Cup, with key men all over the pitch not involved for the friendlies, including defenders Diego Godin, Martin Caceres, Jose Gimenez, Ronald Araujo and Sebastian Coates and midfielders Federico Valverde, Matias Vecino, Giorgian De Arrascaeta and the injured Rodrigo Bentancur.

Instead, it is a young squad which Bielsa has to pick from, and Bournemouth defender Matias Vina will be relied upon at the back, given he boasts the most experience with 29 caps to his name, while all available midfielders are uncapped other than Felipe Carballo, who has turned out twice for La Celeste.

Changes are also aplenty in attack, with Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, who sit first and second respectively in their nation's all-time scoring charts, both sitting out alongside Liverpool's Darwin Nunez, allowing opportunities for the likes of Brian Rodriguez, Agustin Canobbio, Diego Rossi and Manchester United prospect Facundo Pellistri.

Nicaragua could opt to make some changes to the starting XI that narrowly lost to Panama last time out, with experienced forward Juan Barrera expected to come in and lead the line from the outset after he was reduced to a substitute appearance on Sunday, with the 34-year-old boasting 24 international goals in 75 caps.

He could be flanked by Bancy Hernandez and Widman Talavera, who should be rewarded with another start after netting his first goal for La Azul y Blanco in the eventual defeat to Panama.

Kevin Serapio will again play an important role in the engine room, likely alongside Harold Medina and Jacob Montes, while Josue Quijano and Oscar Acevedo could both come into the defence from the start.

Uruguay possible starting lineup:
Rochet; Varela, Lemos, Gonzalez, Vina; Carballo, Diaz, Martinez; Pellistri, Rossi, Rodriguez

Nicaragua possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Quijano, Reyes, Fletes, Acevedo; Medina, Serapio, Montes; Hernandez, Barrera, Talavera

We say: Uruguay 3-0 Nicaragua

While this is certainly not the Uruguay squad that we are used to seeing in recent years, La Celeste should still have too much quality in their ranks for the visitors, particularly with an anticipated boost following Bielsa's appointment.


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