CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers: Thursday Cheat Sheet

MATCHES (EST)

6:00 p.m: Uruguay v. Ecuador
6:30 p.m: Venezuela v. Bolivia
6:30 p.m: Paraguay v. Peru
6:45 p.m: Brazil v. Argentina

ODDS REPORT

EXPECTED SET PIECE AND CORNER TAKERS

Uruguay: Carlos Sanchez, Luis Suarez
Ecuador: Fidel Martinez, Walter Ayovi
Venezuela: Juanpi
Bolivia: Marcelo Moreno, Juan Carlos Arce
Paraguay: Oscar Romero, Derlis Gonzalez
Peru: Christian Cueva, Miguel Trauco
Brazil: Neymar, Willian
Argentina: Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria

PLAYER RECOMMENDATIONS

GOALKEEPER

Carlos Lampe, BOL at VEN:Fernando Muslera is the easy call, as Uruguay are big favorites over Ecuador. However, he's also the most expensive on DraftKings. Dani Hernandez will be in goal for the biggest favorites on the slate, Venezuela, but it may be worth taking his opposing keeper, Lampe. Despite Venezuela coming in as the team most likely to win, according to the bookmakers, they are last in the World Cup qualifying table, one spot behind Bolivia. Both teams have lost eight times, while Bolivia is the only team with a win, which came against Venezuela. They have both scored nine goals and allowed 26, and while the game is in Venezuela, there seems to be little reason to think Lampe will get blasted enough to make the $1,500 savings not worth it.

DEFENDER

Roberto Rosales, VEN v. BOL: Rosales is a fairly high-crossing fullback against a Bolivia squad that has done nothing in qualifying and could easily be exposed on the wings. Yes, Lampe was a choice above, but Rosales could make enough noise by sending in crosses to set up a decent number of saves for the Venezuelan keeper.

Maxi Pereira, URU v. ECU: Uruguay is expected to dominate the Ecuadorians, which should allow Pereira to move up the right flank in the attack. His spot in the starting XI isn't guaranteed, but he could provide a decent salary savings on Draftkings and access to a heavy favorite if he does.

MIDFIELDER

Carlos Sanchez URU v. ECU: Speaking of access to a heavy favorite, Sanchez will be on corners for an Uruguay side that will likely get plenty of shots off. Sanchez is a big crosser while playing in Liga MX, and it's a role he continues playing for the national team. If he doesn't get the start, a pivot to Nicolas Lodeiro makes a lot of sense.

Oscar Romero, PAR v. PER: While plenty of people will be paying attention to the Brazil-Argentina match, not to mention Uruguay-Ecuador to see how many times Luis Suarez can score, don't sleep on Paraguay, who have better odds to score at least twice than Brazil and Argentina. Romero comes with a very solid floor, as he takes shots, sends in crosses, wins tackles and draws fouls. Add in that he's on many set pieces and his ceiling isn't low either. Teammate Derlis Gonzalez, who will line up on the other wing, is a solid play as well, though his floor isn't as high.

FORWARD

Luis Suarez, URU v. ECU: There are not many instances when a forward is a better play than Lionel Messi, but we finally found it with Suarez on Thursday. Look, Messi is still Messi, but facing a very tough Brazil team is much different than Saurez facing off against Ecuador. With Edinson Cavani suspended, Suarez will get all the shots he can handle, with the expectation that many of those set-ups will come from Carlos Sanchez and/or Nicolas Lodeiro.

Josef Martinez, VEN v. BOL: With Salomon Rondon out with a hamstring injury, Martinez will lead the Venezuelan attack against a Bolivia side whose struggles have been detailed. Martinez is likely to get plenty of shots, and his ability to draw fouls gives him a decent floor. Is he Suarez, Messi or Neymar? Of course not, but he's also significantly cheaper.

Editor's note: an earlier version of this article included Salomon Rondon, but he has since been ruled out.