Uruguay and Venezuela face off in a pivotal Copa America Group C match on Thursday.

Venezuela off to a solid start

This is what this game comes down to - a Venezuela win essentially puts them through to the next round and puts Uruguay in serious peril with the Mexico-Jamaica game potentially kicking them out of the tournament if El Tri manages a win.

Venezuela took care of business in its opener, a 1-0 win over Jamaica. It wasn't a dominant performance from Venezuela and they often looked exposed against a 10-man Jamaica, and yet the game was handedly won with the Vinotinto getting the better chances in the match overall.

Uruguay has poor start

Uruguay's situation is dire after a 3-1 loss against Mexico. The Uruguayans looked completely lost in the first half of their game, chasing a quick-passing Mexico around the pitch throughout.

The team wound up down a man at the end of the first half and the game looked all but over. But a surge to start the second half put the game in Uruguay's control and eventually captain Diego Godin finished the rally by tying the game on a set piece play.

But Mexico seized back momentum eventually scoring two more goals and simply outdueling Uruguay in a fast-paced and entertaining match.

Uruguay could have Luis Suarez back for the second game, which would be a huge boost considering the team's lack of attacking edge without the Barcelona forward.

Player to watch

Luis Suarez would be the man to watch if he returns because he makes Uruguay far more dangerous than the team is right now. But even then, Edinson Cavani needs to step up in a big way for his team. The Paris Saint-Germain player was a non-entity in the most recent match and needs to up his game in a big way.

History favors Uruguay

Uruguay has owned Venezuela throughout the rivalry, winning 17, losing four and drawing seven. Venezuela's last win over Uruguay came 10 years ago when the team was undefeated for four games against the Uruguayans. However, the Celeste have a seven-game undefeated run against the Vinotinto as of this writing.

Prediction

Uruguay wins it 2-0 with big performances from Cavani and Godin.

Schedule and Streaming

The game gets started at 7:30 p.m. EDT and can be viewed on Univision or Fox Sports 1 USA. Users can stream online using the Fox Soccer 2 Go App or the Univision Deportes App.


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