Uruguay vs Ecuador: Match Preview and Predictions

Uruguay vs Ecuador
South American – FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
Date: Thursday, 10th November 2016,
Kick Off at 23:00 UK.
Venue: Estadio Centenario, Montevideo.

Uruguay are arguably one of the most consistent sides in this season’s unpredictable South American World Cup qualifiers. After 10 rounds, they are second in the standings with a 3-point gap with leaders Brazil. They earned 6 wins, 2 draws along the way, while 2 defeats came away from home against Argentina and their Thursday’s opponent Ecuador.

It is fair to say that Uruguay have an incredible home record in qualifiers this term and have picked up wins in each of their 5 matches so far and are yet to concede a single goal.

Ecuador made an excellent start to their qualifying campaign. But they were dealt with heavy blows in recent. Their five match unbeaten run came to an end with a defeat away at Colombia which was followed by defeats against Brazil and Peru which made it a 3 match losing streak. However, they bounced back with a 3-0 win against Chile and 2-2 draw against Bolivia in the last two rounds.

They still remain inside the qualification zone and are third at a 3-point distance from Uruguay. Ecuador have a traditionally poor away record in the qualifiers. But this term is slightly better as they picked 2 wins and 1 draw from the 5 matches so far and lost twice.

Uruguay vs Ecuador: Head-to-Head Stats

Ecuador earned a 2-1 win at home when the sides met for the first leg clash on November 2015.

At the same time, Uruguay haven’t lost to Ecuador at home in any competition since 1939. They picked up 6 wins and 3 draws in the last 9 qualifying fixtures at home. But Ecuador earned draws in their last two visits to Uruguay.

Uruguay vs Ecuador: Prediction

Uruguay are a side that can be trusted while playing in front of their home crowd. Along with a 100% win record from 5 home matches this campaign, they winning streak in qualifiers at home stretches to 7 matches and the unbeaten streak to 13 matches.

Ecuador normally don’t fare well in away games and they have already shown signs of decline after a good start to the campaign this term. So Uruguay look good to grab a key win against Ecuador at the Montevideo, which will help them put pressure on leaders Brazil.