Brazil will look to maintain their recent resurgence in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers when they host Colombia. The Brazilians have been solid at home and should have the upper hand over the visitors, who have lost their way lately.
Gerson's second half effort earned Brazil a 1-1 home draw with Uruguay in their previous qualifying fixture. That result extended their unbeaten run to four matches, although they have failed to keep a clean sheet in four of their last five fixtures in the qualifiers.
Brazil are currently fifth in the table, comfortably in the automatic qualification places but will be keen to finish higher. Dorival Junior's men have claimed two wins and a draw from their last three home matches, with a 4-0 victory over Peru among their results in that run.
Colombia had made a bright start to the qualifiers and were unbeaten in their opening eight matches. However, Nestor Lorenzo's men have lost their way in the last few games, suffering three defeats in their last four matches and falling 1-0 at home to Ecuador in their previous fixture.
The Colombians have dropped to fourth in the table and could be leapfrogged by Brazil with a defeat on Friday. They have also lost their last two matches in the qualifiers and were beaten 3-2 by Uruguay last time out on the road.
How the bookies view it: Bookies backing Brazil
The bookies have installed Brazil as overwhelming favourites, with a home win priced at 8/11 by BoyleSports. An unlikely victory for Colombia is valued at 4/1 by BoyleSports, who are also offering odds of 9/4 for a draw.
Head to head: Brazilian dominance
Brazil have a 13-2 advantage with nine defeats from 24 previous matches against Colombia. However both teams played out a 1-1 draw in the Copa America last June while the Colombians earned a 2-1 home win in the reverse fixture.
Players to watch: Eyes on Raphinha
Raphinha is enjoying a good season for Barcelona and has also impressed for Brazil, with three goals in the last three qualifying matches. The forward was also on target in the Copa America meeting and could be worth keeping an eye on at 5/2 with BoyleSports.
Jhon Duran has been in good form for Saudi club Al Nassr, scoring three times in the last two matches. He will be hoping to carry that form to the national team and will be the one to watch for Colombia.
Probable line-ups
Neymar misses out for Brazil through Injury while goalkeeper Ederson is unlikely to feature due to an abdominal issue. Alisson is set to man the posts for the hosts, with the La Liga trio Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Raphinha expected to lead the line.
Yerson Mosquera is not included for Colombia due to injury while Luis Sinisterra also misses out. James Rodriguez has been invited and is expected to start on Thursday alongside Duran and Luis Diaz.
Brazil: Alisson, Danilo, Gabriel, Marquinhos, Abner, Andre, Gerson, Guimaraes, Raphinha, Rodrygo, Vinicius
Colombia: Vargas, Mojica, Sanchez, Lucumi, Munoz, Arias, Portilla, Rios, James, Diaz, Duran
Anything else catch the eye?
Brazil and Colombia have both scored in five of their last seven meetings and a repeat is priced at evens with BoyleSports. Three of Colombia's last five qualifying matches have produced over 2.5 goals, which is priced at 6/5 by BoyleSports.
Brazil scored in both halves in the home win over Peru and could be set for a similar outcome at 11/5 with BoyleSports.
This World Cup match between Brazil and Colombia will be played on and kick off at 00:45. Check below for our tipsters best Brazil vs Colombia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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