Ecuador damaged their qualifying chances with a 1-0 defeat in Peru, but La Tri would make a giant step towards Brazil with three points against leaders Argentina.

Los Albicelestes remained five points clear of the nearest rivals in spite of the goalless draw against Colombia and they probably won’t be too disappointed if they manage to bring one point from Quito.

Ecuador may have crashed out of the 2011 Copa America in group stage, but the team have been absolutely impressive since.

Reinaldo Rueda’s side started the 2014 World Cup qualifiers brightly, winning three of first five matches, while winning no less than eight straight friendly games.

While the team could only bring two points from five away fixtures, they were absolutely brilliant at home, winning all fix qualifiers and conceding just two goals in the process.

With high altitude in Quito likely to prove a massive problem for Argentina as well, there is a lot of value in odds of 2.80 (9/5) offered at Ladbrokes on home win.

The hosts should have an extra motive to do well here, having lost the reverse fixture 4-0, although they are not without problems at the moment.

Key attacker Cristian “Chucho” Benitez misses out through suspension, but Felipe Caicedo should be recalled having recovered from injury.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Banguera – Ibarra, Guagua, Erazo, Ayovi – Valencia, Castillo, Colon, Montero – Caicedo, Rojas.

With four games to go, Argentina have all but secured their place at the tournament finals, with the team sitting nine points clear of fifth-placed Venezuela.

Nevertheless, Alejandro Sabella will want his team to continue the good run of results, although the game in Quito is likely to be their toughest test yet.

Argentina have largely struggled whenever they played at high altitude in the past, with 6-1 defeat in Bolivia something they won’t be able to forget any time soon.

Los Albicelestes did bring one point from Bolivia in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, but with several key men now missing, odds of 2.75 (7/4) offered at Sportingbet do not look too tempting.

Lionel Messi looks likely to start on the bench once again as he continues to battle a hamstring problem, while Alejandro Sabella looks set to revert to 5-3-2 formation.

Meanwhile, Gonzalo Higuain and Pablo Zabaleta miss out through suspension, which only adds to the worries ahead of the trip to Quito.

Probable starting line-up (5-3-2): Romero – Peruzzi, Garay, Basanta, Fernandez, Rojo – Banega, Mascherano, Di Maria – Palacio, Aguero.

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