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El Salvador begin preparations for the upcoming 2021 Gold Cup with a friendly game against traditional rivals Guatemala at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday.
La Selecta have been shaping up well so far, winning all four of their World Cup qualifying games this month without conceding a single goal. They have netted 16 goals in the process.
This has put them in the final round with seven other sides who'll now compete for three direct spots for the Qatar showpiece. El Salvador have emerged as favorites to progress from the group stages of next month's US showpiece.
Guatemala's World Cup dream ended in cruel fashion. They finished second behind Curacao in the second round of the qualifiers despite having the same number of points and goal-difference.
They played a goalless stalemate in their defining game on the final matchday and the latter progressed courtesy of having scored one goal more than Los Chapines.
El Salvador vs Guatemala Head-To-Head
There have been 71 clashes between the sides before with Guatemala boasting a superior record against their Central American neighbors, winning 33 times, more than twice the number of games (16) as El Salvador.
However, in their last clash, which also happened to be an international friendly on March 2019, La Selecta secured a 3-1 victory.
El Salvador Form Guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-D
Guatemala Form Guide (all competitions): D-W-W-W-W
El Salvador vs Guatemala Team News
El Salvador
Hugo Perez has named a 21-man squad for this friendly game. In-form striker David Rugamas features, who scored a hat-trick versus the US Virgin Islands earlier this month, so do experienced stars like Gerson Mayen and Narciso Orellana.
Four players - Daniel Rios, Damian Alguera, Brandon Zelaya and Alejandro Cano - are in line to make their international debuts, although Eriq Zavaleta has rejoined his club Toronto FC since their last game and hasn't been called up for this one.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Eriq Zavaleta
Guatemala
Los Chapines have called up 26 players for the California trip, including rising star Darwin Lom, who's netted five times for them in just eight games, and 35-year old veteran goalkeeper Ricardo Jerez.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
El Salvador vs Guatemala Predicted XI
El Salvador (4-1-4-1): Mario Gonzalez; Bryan Tamacas, Roberto Dominguez, Ronald Gomez, Alexander Larin; Melvin Cartagena; Joshua Perez, Narciso Orellana, Gerson Mayen, Joaquin Rivas; David Rugamas.
Guatemala (4-2-1-3): Eloy Room; Moises Hernandez, Kervin Garcia, Jose Pinto, Michael Maria; Marlon Peleg, Marco Dominguez; Juninho Bacuna; Rodrigo Saravia, Darwin Lom, Marvin Ceballos.
El Salvador vs Guatemala Prediction
Both sides are coming from busy periods. El Salvador have played four times already this month, and will have to negotiate another friendly with Qatar all the way in Croatia after this match.
They might field a weakened line-up, though Guatemala themselves have a UNCAF play-off match against Guayana coming up next week and may start an experimental line-up too.
Unlike in their previous clashes, don't expect fireworks. A dour stalemate seems like the most probable outcome.
Prediction: El Salvador 1-1 Guatemala
