Chile
vs
Mexico
Estadio Nacional Julio Mart nez PrA?danos,
Santiago de Chile
.
Sunday, June 16 2015; 00:30 GMT
******
Alexis Sanchez will be hoping to lead Chile into the Copa Am rica quarter-finals with a victory over Mexico on Tuesday morning, who will be without their influential captain Rafael Marquez.
Team News and Tactical Brief
Chile
Chile won their opener game against Ecuador, 2-0 with a man of the match performance from Arturo Vidal. Eduardo Vargas and Arturo Vidal scored the only two goals of the game, as goalkeeper Claudio Bravo earned a clean sheet for the hosts.
Chile will be hoping to seal their qualification early on to try out some of their other players in the remaining group game.
Highest FIFA ranked team in the group A, Chile is expected to line up in a 4-3-3 formation with the mercurial talents of Alexis Sanchez on display from the left of the front three.
Mat as FernA?ndez is suspended having been sent off against Ecuador last time out, so Jorge Vald via should keep his place, potentially playing the role of a false nine.
Manager Sampaoli ditched his favoured 3-man backline system at half-time in the opener and could sacrifice Jean Beausejour once more, with Eduardo Vargas returning to the starting XI having scored late on in the Copa America’s curtain raiser.
Probable Starting Lineup: Bravo (GK/Capt); Isla, Mena, Medel, Jara; Vidal, Diaz, Aranguiz; Valdivia, Sanchez, Vargas.
Mexico
Mexico have been accused of prioritizing the North American Gold Cup over the Copa America having bought only one of the thirty five shortlisted probables by manager Herrera.
And to add to the problem, the Mexicans will now be without Rafael Marquez who will miss both of the group stage fixtures that remain following an injury in the opening fixture.
If Mexico had deployed a back four and two wingers against Bolivia last Friday, they probably would be sitting pretty on three points in Group A of the Copa America.
And while anything is a certainty in the beautiful game, with hindsight, after seeing the huge improvement in Mexico’s play after Marquez exited injured in the 64th minute forcing coach Miguel Herrera switching from 5-3-2 to a 4-4-2 formation, it seems a fair assertion.
The team looked much more comfortable. The center-backs are more used to a defensive line of four, the full-backs are at ease overlapping with a winger in front of them, and crucially, the wide players added volume and creativity.
Javier Aquino was bright from the bench last time out and could feature, while Marco FabiA?n will also hope for some playing time
Probable Starting Lineup: Corona (GK); Flores, Dominguez, Valenzuela, Aldrete, Guemez, Osuna, Aquino, Fabian, Corona, Jiminez.
Player to Watch
Aleix Sanchez (Chile):
Sanchez was in sensational form for his club side Arsenal FC following a move from FC Barcelona. The player will be looking to open his account against a Mexico side minus Rafael Marquez and with many big names omitted from the squad with an eye on the North American Gold Cup. Fancy him to score his first goal and take Chile through to the Quarter Finals, tonight.
Final Prediction
Chile 3 – 0 Mexico
Expect a comfortable win for the hosts. With the talents of Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sanchez and Claudio Bravo – as well as the massive home support behind the squad – Chile will undoubtedly be the favorite against a Mexico side without its key players.
Blast From The Past