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Luiz Gustavo of Brazil (L) struggles for the ball with Cristian Rodriguez of Uruguay during a match between Brazil and Uruguay as part of 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Qualifiers at Arena Pernanbuco on March 25, 2016 in Recife, Brazil. Getty

Two top CONMEBOL squads meet Thursday night, when Brazil travels to Montevideo to face Uruguay at Estadio Centenario in their bids for Russia 2018. In this high-profile matchup, Uruguay will be without two very important players: Luis Suarez and Fernando Muslera.

Suarez, who is second in scoring in La Liga, and Muslera, the goalkeeper for Turkish club Galatasaray, are both serving suspensions. Martin Silva, who plays for Vasco de Gama, will get the starting job in net. Injured central defender Jose Maria Gimenez is also unavailable for Oscar Tabarez's squad.

Uruguay will likely count on Edinson Cavani to make up for the lack of scoring punch with Suarez out. Cavani has thrived with Paris-Saint Germain this season, having scored 37 goals in 37 games. Diego Rolan, who also plays in the French league with Bordeaux, will likely partner with Cavani up front.

While Suarez is out, his counterpart at Barcelona is active for the match and in excellent form. Superstar forward Neymar will be in the starting lineup for the Selecao and is coming off an excellent performance against PSG in a recent Champions League match. He has also found the back of the net in four of Brazil's last five qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro, who has been sidelined with a fibula injury, is set to return for Brazil. But head coach Tite will be without Bayern Munich winger Douglas Costa and Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus. Tite may rely heavily on playmaker Philippe Coutinho, who has been a key figure with Liverpool along with teammate Roberto Firmino.

Brazil has 27 points, while Uruguay has 23, to sit atop the CONMEBOL table after 12 matches. The two sides are coming off very different away results in their last qualifying matches on Nov. 15, 2016. Uruguay was defeated by Chile, 3-1, while Brazil held off Peru, 2-0.

Brazil and Uruguay played to a 2-2 result on March 25, 2016, at Recife, Brazil.

BRAZIL

G: Alisson

D: Marcelo, Miranda, Maquinhos, Alves

M: Augusto, Casemiro, Paulinho

F: Neymar, Firmino, Coutinho

URUGUAY

G: Silva

D: Godin, Coates, Silva, Maxi Pereira

M: Vecino, Arevalo, Gonzalez, Sanchez

F: Cavani, Rolan

Kickoff Time: 7 p.m. ET

TV Channel: beIN Sports

Prediction: Brazil defeats Uruguay, 2-1

Russia