With only a four-day turnaround after Wednesday's opener against Fiji, the twice world champions have changed 14 of the 15 players in their starting line-up for the clash at Birmingham's Villa Park (kickoff 1100 GMT).
As a result, there will be no chance to have another look at the Wallabies team that produced a solid 28-13 win over the Pacific Islanders in Cardiff and is likely to make up a large part of the sides to face England and Wales.
What the match does offer, however, is a chance for players on the fringes of selection to stake a claim for a place in the starting side for those heavyweight Pool A encounters.
"The margins are so fine in selection that it could have been these guys playing last Wednesday," Cheika told reporters on Friday.
"Sometimes it's been made on a gut call it's so tight and sometimes -- I don't really want to say -- it's been a toss of the coin it's so tight.
"It's just all about giving players the opportunity and having the players make the most of their opportunity."
Chief among those hoping to impress are scrumhalf Nick Phipps and flyhalf Quade Cooper, who will be keen to show Cheika they can offer more, individually or as a partnership, than Will Genia and Bernard Foley managed against Fiji.
Other opportunities might come out wide where the experienced Drew Mitchell and Joe Tomane will be looking to score the first try by an Australian back at the tournament after the forwards claimed all three against Fiji.
Australia missed out on a four-try bonus point against the Fijians but should have few problems collecting one from their first ever meeting with Uruguay.
Ranked 19th in the world, Los Teros also opened their tournament in Cardiff, where they were overpowered 54-9 by Wales after an encouraging start.
Coach Pablo Lemoine has made five changes to his team, including the promotion of 21-year-old hooker German Kessler to the starting line-up.
"He's young but he's really strong, he has a lot of attitude on the pitch," Lemoine told reporters on Friday.
"Our arms are our backs and our forwards, and strong combat is one of the strengths that characterises the team and historically has been an asset of Uruguayan rugby."
Teams:
Australia: 1-Scott Sio, 2-Tatafu Polota-Nau, 3-Toby Smith, 4-Dean Mumm (captain), 5-Will Skelton, 6-Ben McCalman, 7-Sean McMahon, 8-Wycliff Palu; 9-Nick Phipps, 10-Quade Cooper, 11-Drew Mitchell, 12-Matt Toomua, 13-Henry Speight, 14-Joe Tomane, 15-Kurtley Beale.
Replacements: 16-Stephen Moore, 17-Sekope Kepu, 18-Greg Holmes, 19-Kane Douglas, 20-Rob Simmons, 21-Will Genia, 22-Bernard Foley, 23-Tevita Kuridrani
Uruguay: 1-Mateo Sanguinetti, 2-German Kessler, 3-Mario Sagario, 4-Santiago Vilaseca (captain), 5-Franco Lamanna, 6-Juan De Freitas, 7-Matias Beer, 8-Juan Manuel Gaminara; 9-Agustin Ormaechea, 10-Felipe Berchesi, 11-Rodrigo Silva, 12-Andres Vilaseca, 13-Joaquin Prada, 14-Leandro Leivas, 15-Gaston Mieres
Replacements: 16-Nicolas Klappenbach, 17-Oscar Duran, 18-Carlos Arboleya, 19-Alejandro Nieto, 20-Diego Magno, 21-Fernando Bascou, 22-Alejo Duran, 23-Alberto Roman
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)
(Editing by Justin Palmer)
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