Chileans are all set to take on Bolivia in a Group A clash of the Copa America 2015 at Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos on 19 June.
Chile cannot afford to lose this match against Bolivia in order to qualify for the quarter final stages of the tournament. They have drawn one match against Mexico and have won one against Ecuador in the opening fixture of the tournament.
The equation is similar for Bolivia as well. They have also won against Ecuador and drawn their first match against guest nation Mexico. If they would want to prove a point in this tournament then they will have to outclass Chile.
But if Bolivia lose, then they will have to depend on the result of the other Group A fixture between Mexico and Ecuador. In that case they would want Ecuador to beat Mexico in their final game of the group stage.
Jorge Sampaoli's men could play this game without their star player Alexis Sanchez. He had to go for an MRI after he felt pain in his right leg. It might not be that serious, but if Chile qualifies for the knock-out stages, Sampaoli will not be risking his best player in the side.
"We want to finish first in the group, we know it will be tough. The aim is to do good things on Friday and go through as the best in the group. We are happy, but we will not lower our guard. We are mentally prepared to have a good performance in every game - the confidence is there," Bolivian defender Edward Zenteno said.
Bolivia have not defeated Chile since 2000 when they beat the host nation in a World Cup qualifier game by 1-0. Bolivia are currently riding high on confidence after they emerged victorious against Ecuador and they had also managed to end their first game in a stalemate against a fancy Mexico side. They would want to qualify for the qualfying stages desparately but they have an uphill task in front of them.
Earlier, Chilean footballer Arturo Vidal was put behind the bars after he crashed his Ferrari under the influence of alcohol. He apologised later and is likely to feature against Bolivia. Sampaoli knows how important Vidal is for his side.
"He is a very valuable player for us. I don't think one should be excluded for making a mistake. It's much easier to exclude than to include... we all know what he can bring to this team. He wasn't able to control what happened on his afternoon off but that's an internal issue. He has always had good behaviour while with the national team," Sampaoli said.
Expected Line-ups:
Chile: Bravo, Albornoz, Medel, Jara, Isla, Aranguiz, Diaz, Valdivia, Fernandez, Alexis, Vargas.
Bolivia: Quinonez, Hurtado, Raldes, Zenteno, Morales, Smedberg, Bejerano, Chumacero, Escobar, Pedriel, Martins.
The match between Chile and Bolivia is scheduled for 8:30pm local time (5am IST, 12:30am BST, 7:30pm ET) with live coverage in India on Sony Kix and Sony Six HD. Live streaming option is available on Livsports.
The UK viewers can switch to Premier Sports. The opening Copa America match can be live-streamed on Premier Player.
People in the US can watch the match live on beIn Sports and stream the same live on beIn Sports Connect, Fubo TV and TYC Sports.com.
Viewers in Australia can live stream the match on beIn Sports Connect Australia.
Middle East viewers can watch the match live on beIn Sports Arabia 1 HD and beIn Sports Arabia 2 HD.
