Uruguay and Egypt will go will go head-to-head in Friday's Group A clash at the Ekaterinburg Arena.

Uruguay have been tipped as favourites to finish top of the group which also includes Saudi Arabia and hosts Russia. La Celeste qualified for the World Cup by finishing second in South American qualifiying and could be a potential dark horse for the tournament. Egypt on the other hand, will be participating in a World Cup for only the third time in their history.

Commentary for this game (12pm Ghana time kickoff) will not be live on Joy 99.7 FM, however Spain vs Portugal (6pm Ghana time kick off) will be. 

Current Form

Uruguay head to Russia on the back of just one defeat in their last nine games. In those games, the South Americans have kept an impressive six clean sheets and have won their last three games. Interestingly, Oscar Tabarez's side opted to play just one warm up match before the tournament, beating Uzbekistan 3-0. 

Uruguay may have Luis Suarez as their marquee player, but Edinson Cavani will be looking to continue his impressive scoring record for his country. The Paris Saint-Germain star scored ten goals in the 18 qualifying games for Uruguay.

Egypt will start their World Cup campaign in poor form after failing to win their last six games. A 3-0 defeat by Belgium in their last game means that the seven time African champions will not be high on confidence when playing in Friday's early kick off.

Previous Encounter: Egypt 0-2 Uruguay (2006)

The two countries have only played once in their history and that came in a 2006 friendly at the Alexandria Stadium in Egypt, where goals from Uruguay defender Diego Godin and an own goal from Egyptian defender Abdelzaher El Saqqa was enough for the South Americans to seal a comfortable win.

Team News

Uruguay have a fully fit squad to choose from heading into Friday's early kick off. Oscar Tabarez is expected to field a traditional 4-4-2 formation with all his players in prime form. Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani will lead the line upfront and will be key to Uruguay's chances of success.

Egypt have one major injury concern and that is of course, Mohamed Salah. The Liverpool star, however, has been declared fit in the last 24 hours in a major, major boost for his side. 

Potential Lineups 

Uruguay (4-4-2): Muslera, Gaston Silva, Gimenez, Godin, Caceres, Cristian Rodriguez, Bentancur, Vecino, Laxalt, Suraez, Cavani.

Egypt (4-2-3-1): El Hadary, Abdel-Shafy, Ali Gabr, Hegazi, Fathy, Abdallah Said, El Neny, Hamed, Warda, Sobhi, Salah.

Match Prediction

Uruguay are in better form than their Friday opponents, but with Salah in the boat, anything could happen for the Egyptians.

Prediction: Uruguay 2-1 Egypt

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Joy Sports Uruguay team profile

Joy Sports' Egypt team profile

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