Brazil: No goals, a string of defeats – it's just like watching... England

Marcelo Bielsa is a one-off. The Chile coach's behaviour on the touchline is enough to single him out. He prowls up and down, squats on his haunches, examines the floor with the air of a man who has lost his keys and occasionally goes for little wanders with his hands clasped behind his back, Prince Charles-style, obsessing all the while about how he can unlock the opposition's defence. For the Argentine coach, attack is the only way to play. That is why tomorrow's World Cup qualifier between his Chile and Dunga's Brazil is such an electrifying prospect.

The two sides meet in Santiago in the seventh of the 18 rounds in South America's marathon campaign. The top four countries make it through automatically to South Africa 2010. As is stands, that includes Chile, who are fourth. But it does not include Brazil, who lie fifth. If they have made no improvement come October 2009's final round, they will be forced into a play-off against a team from the Concacaf region, which consists of North and Central America, plus the Caribbean.

But it could get even worse for Brazil. Santiago is not an easy place to visit – and Brazil's form is poor. In June's last two rounds they were somewhat fortunate to draw 0-0 at home to Argentina, a few days after a tame 2-0 defeat in Paraguay. In the match before that they suffered their first-ever defeat at the hands of Venezuela, 2-0, in a friendly played in Boston. At senior level, they have gone three games without a goal. Dunga also failed in his quest to lead Brazil's footballers to their first Olympic gold. Bronze was little compensation.

The speculation going into the Olympics was that only outright victory would keep Dunga in a job. But since the squad for Santiago had to be announced while he was still in China, he survived. For now. A defeat tomorrow – which, depending on other results, could leave Brazil down in seventh place, would be intolerable.

Chile, meanwhile, have their tails up. Away wins are rare in South America. In the 30 games played in the qualifiers so far in this campaign there have been just five. But two of those were achieved by Chile in June, when in quick succession they overcame Bolivia at the extreme altitude of La Paz and Venezuela in the heat of Puerto La Cruz. On both occasions, they played three up front – as they will almost certainly do tomorrow.

Bielsa has long favoured the 3-3-1-3 system, aiming to squeeze and suffocate the opposition in their own half. Former Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez may not be fit to take his place on the left of centre-forward Humberto Suazo, but the real jewel is on the other flank – Alexis Sanchez, of Udinese, is the gnat-like teenage right-winger of whom great things are expected. Then there is the prospect of two attacking midfielders: the twinkle-toed Jorge Valdivia and Villarreal's Mathias Fernandez, full of thrust in the final third of the field. Backed by a full house in Santiago's Nacional stadium, the onus will be on Chile to attack – which is exactly the way Bielsa wants it.

"If you let a team like Brazil have plenty of possession, they will get better," he says. "If we attack them, we oblige them to do what they like least, which is winning the ball back. These are the risks that I prefer to run."

Bielsa would perhaps do well to heed the advice of his successor as Argentina coach, Jose Pekerman. After his side had been picked off on the break in the final of the 2005 Confederations Cup, Pekerman pointed out that "Brazil are not what people think, they don't dominate you. They are a counter-attacking team. When you lose the ball, they kill you."

Many of Brazil's best recent performances have come against Argentina exactly because their old rivals have tried to pass their way through them and played into the hands of a devastating counter-attack. Against teams who mark tight and pull men behind the ball, Brazil have often looked laboured recently, with central midfielders such as Gilberto Silva unable to circulate the ball to good effect.

The match tomorrow is a dynamite combination: a team that only knows how to attack, versus the world masters on the counter – even with Kaka out injured. Luis Fabiano is more than effective in the penalty area. He will be supported by Manchester City's man of the moment Robinho, and Ronaldinho, who showed welcome signs of a return to form and fitness in his debut for Milan last Sunday.

Some in the Brazilian media will not be too upset if Chile come out on top this time. Dunga has made enemies, cutting back greatly on media access to the players. A portion of the press pack was gunning for him last year in the Copa America – but when he walked into the press conference after beating Argentina 3-0 to win the title, they burst into applause. That was a counter-attacking triumph. Perhaps another one in tomorrow's fascinating encounter will keep him in a job.