Honduras and Venezuela face off at Audi Field in an international friendly clash on Friday morning.

The game is one of a pair of tune-up games for Los Catrachos in preparation for the imminent Gold Cup, while there is little riding on the game for the Red Wine.

Match preview

Diego Vasquez's Honduras' Gold Cup journey begins imminently, but the Central American nation have two friendly games to play before facing Mexico on June 26.

The first of those two matches brings them head to head with Venezuela, looking to build momentum before the competition starts.

Their form has been sketchy, with a 4-1 loss to Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League following a 1-0 win over El Salvador in March.

Before that were a pair of winless non-FIFA friendly games that ended 1-0 to Qatar and a goalless encounter with Saudi Arabia last October.

They did defeat Canada a year ago 2-1, giving hope of a possibly encouraging run at the finals to be held in the United States.

Their opponents on Friday are Venezuela, whose recent results have been impressive, even if they have come in non-competitive fixtures.

Fernando Batista took charge in March, and the 52-year-old boss remains unbeaten after two games at the helm of the Red Wine.

Both games were played nearly three months back, but Batista seeks to extend the unbeaten run at the start of his tenure at Audi Field this week.

Since losing their final CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier against Colombia in March 2022, La Vinotinto have claimed five wins in eight fixtures (one defeat), albeit coming in non-competitive games.

The only loss in that run was a 1-0 reverse against Iceland in September 2022, with a five-game unbeaten run (three wins) following that defeat in Austria.

Despite having little riding on their clash with Honduras, La Vinotinto comes into this week's game as favourites.

Team News

Salomon Rondon and Josef Martinez netted in Venezuela's 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia in March, and both players are likely to start against Honduras.

Batista could utilise the 4-4-2 in the encounter, looking to take advantage of his leading strikers.

There could be several changes to the Honduras line-up beaten by Canada in March, with many players from that defeat not in the squad to face Venezuela.

Maylor Nunez, Carlos Melendez and Luis Vega could start in the back five, while Joseph Rosales could be a menace from wide positions.

Venezuela possible starting lineup:
Graterol; Aramburu, Chancellor, Osorio, Navaro; Bello, Martinez, Rincon, Sosa; Rondon, Martinez

Honduras possible starting lineup:
Lopez; Nunez, Melendez, Maldonado, Vega, Flores; Elis, Acosta, Flores, Rosales; Benguche

We say: Venezuela 2-1 Honduras

With Honduras expected to prioritise fitness and strategy, they are less likely to focus on the outcome at Audi Field, possibly giving Venezuela the edge in the game.

La Vinotinto's last four friendlies have seen both teams score, and the same could continue against the Central American nation.

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

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