Chile will look to confirm their place in the Copa America quarter-finals on Friday, when they take on Paraguay in their final game of the group stage.

Martin Lasarte's men currently sit second in the group, having collected five points from three games, while their opponents occupy third spot with three points from their two matches so far.

Match preview

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Chile come into this game hoping to finish a strong group campaign on a high, having collected five points from their opening three games.

They started with a commendable point in a tough opening game against a heavily-fancied Argentina side, having fallen behind to an eye-catching free kick from Lionel Messi.

Martin Lasarte's won a penalty on the hour mark, and Emiliano Martinez saved Arturo Vidal's effort from the spot, but the keeper was powerless to prevent Eduardo Vargas pouncing on the rebound to fire in and draw his side level, with the game finishing 1-1.

They then went on to defeat Bolivia 1-0 in the following game, as Ben Brereton netted the only goal of the match in the 10th minute.

Most recently, La Roja earned another valuable point, drawing 1-1 with a strong Uruguay outfit, as Luis Suarez equalised on the hour mark for their opponents after Vargas fired his side into the lead in the first half.

Having navigated their way through clashes with the two most formidable sides in their group, accumulating five points along the way, Lasarte's men have all but confirmed their deserved progression from the group.

They will now look to finish the group in a positive manner to achieve as high of a finish as possible, as La Roja look to gain a favourable quarter-final draw.

Their opponents also find themselves in a strong position to qualify, but definitely still have more to do if they are to book their spot in the final eight.

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Paraguay kicked off their group stage campaign with a victory, as they took on Bolivia in Goiania.

Despite La Albirroja dominating throughout, it was their opponents who took an early lead through an Erwin Saavedra penalty, and it took until past the hour mark for Paraguay to finally take their chances, as Alejandro Romero equalised and Angel Romero immediately put them ahead before he netted his second of the game 15 minutes later to seal a 3-1 victory.

However, they suffered a defeat last time out in their second group game, as an early Alejandro Gomez goal fired Argentina to a narrow 1-0 win on Monday.

While that is by no means a devastating result against one of the pre-tournament favourites, in a short group format they will hope to quickly return to winning ways, with one win from their final two likely enough to seal their quarter-final spot.

Team News

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Chile will remain without key forward Alexis Sanchez, who is expected to miss the majority of the tournament with an injury picked up in training.

In his absence, the attack has been led by Eduardo Vargas, who has found the net twice in their first three games.

He should be joined by Ben Brereton, who netted his first Chile goal in the win over Bolivia after committing to the South American outfit prior to the tournament.

They boast an experienced spine, with Arturo Vidal and Charles Aranguiz in midfield having made 207 combined international appearances, while Gary Medel and Guillermo Maripan marshal a solid back four in front of Claudio Bravo, who has featured 131 times for his nation.

Paraguay should continue to field an unchanged side, despite their narrow defeat last time out, with Alberto Espinola, Gustavo Gomez, Junior Alonso and Santiago Arzamendia lining up across the back four.

Robert Piris Da Mota and Andres Cubas could again sit in front of the defence, allowing freedom for the exciting line of Angel Romero, Miguel Almiron and Alejandro Romero to launch quick attacks, supporting frontman Gabriel Avalos, who will go in search of his first goal for Paraguay.

Chile possible starting lineup:
Bravo; Isla, Medel, Maripan, Mena; Vidal, Aranguiz, Pulgar; Brereton, Vargas, Meneses

Paraguay possible starting lineup:
Silva; Espinola, Gomez, Alonso, Arzamendia; Piris, Cubas; Angel Romero, Almiron, Alejandro Romero; Avalos

We say: Chile 2-0 Paraguay

Although Paraguay look an exciting prospect, Chile should have enough to pick up another three points on Friday, having shown their quality in the group stage.

The pairing of Maripan and Medel has been formidable so far, and they will aim for a clean sheet, while Lasarte's attack will have enough chances to take the game away from Paraguay.

Written by
Sam Varley

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