Peru will look to climb into the top five of the South American World Cup 2022 Qualifying group on Tuesday, when they make the trip to take on Venezuela.
The visitors currently occupy seventh spot but remain within two points of the qualification places, while their hosts are stranded at the foot of the group.
Match preview
Venezuela's difficult spell on the international stage has continued into this World Cup Qualifying campaign, as La Vinotinto are now almost mathematically out of the running for what would have been their maiden global tournament.
While a 2-1 victory over Chile was a high point in 2020, that was their only win in the first 10 qualifying games, leaving the strugglers on just four points at the bottom of the group, before they managed to defeat Ecuador 2-1 in October thanks to goals from Darwin Machis and Eduard Bello.
Such a win was impressive against a side battling at the top end of the group, but they have been unable to build a run on those foundations, having since lost 3-0 to Chile and 1-0 to Ecuador.
La Tricolor gained revenge on Venezuela on Thursday, as Piero Hincapie hit the only goal in a home win, further cutting Leonardo Gonzalez's men adrift.
Now sitting on just seven points from 13 of their 18 games, La Vinotinto are all but out of contention, but they will still hope to post a positive result and regain some confidence on Tuesday.
They meet a Peru side who will look to challenge for the top five spots after an important victory last time out.
Having started the qualifying campaign with four defeats and a draw, Peru's qualification hopes looked particularly slim, but they have managed to overturn their form in impressive fashion.
Los Incas have now collected 13 points from their last eight outings to stand a strong chance of a top-five finish, although those chances were harmed by consecutive defeats to Bolivia and Argentina in October.
Ricardo Gareca's side made a crucial rebound on Friday, as they thrashed strugglers Bolivia 3-0, with Gianluca Lapadula, Christian Cueva and Sergio Pena all getting on the scoresheet in the first half.
That saw them move back up to seventh spot, with Uruguay, Colombia and fourth-placed Chile all just two points ahead, meaning Los Incas' situation could be vastly changed with a victory, depending on other results.
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Team News
Venezuela are without all-time top scorer Salomon Rondon, who has missed this international break to focus on getting sharp for Everton.
Tomas Rincon and Jose Martinez form a solid midfield pairing, and they will be relied on to provide experience and steel in the engine room.
Gonzalez should again deploy a back three, with Adrian Martinez, Nahuel Ferraresi and Yordan Osorio set to take to the field.
After a strong showing last time out, Peru are expected to field an unchanged side on Tuesday, with the likes of Christian Cueva, Sergio Pena and Renato Tapia remaining key players.
One possible alteration may be the return of Yoshimar Yotun though, after he served a suspension last time out.
Gianluca Lapadula will continue to lead the line after he found the net last time out, taking his tally to four international goals.
Venezuela possible starting lineup:
Romo; Rosales, Martinez, Ferraresi, Osorio, Carrillo; Machis, Rincon, Martinez, Hurtado; Ramirez
Peru possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Lora, Zambrano, Callens, Trauco; Yotun, Tapia; Carrillo, Pena, Cueva; Lapadula
We say: Venezuela 0-2 Peru
Given the gulf in class between the two sides, we see Peru picking up a relatively comfortable victory on Tuesday.
The hosts have struggled this campaign, and we again see them being dominated by a Peru side who will be confident after a win last time out.
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