Preview and Predictions of South America World Cup Games
by Jason Green of Predictem.com
In late games tonight and early tomorrow morning there are some big South America World Cup qualifying games. There are 4 automatic berths from South America while the 5th place team will play the 4th place team from the CONCACAF zone (North-Central America & the Caribbean)
Argentina at Ecuador
The moneyline for this game has Argentina as slight favorites at +135 and Ecuador as the slight underdog at +170 with a draw at +220.
Argentina is currently in 4th place in the group with 22 points and Ecuador is in 5th place tied with Uruguay with 17 points. On Saturday Argentina beat Columbia 1-0, but did not look impressive, and Ecuador beat Peru 2-1 in their last WC match. Lionel Messi rested in the win over Columbia, as if he gets one more yellow card he will miss the next match and with Brazil coming up in September so he has to be careful tonight. Argentina has an attacking style and Ecuador will have to play a great game on defense. Argentina does not only have to deal with the hostile away crowd, but they also have to deal with the high altitude of Quito, Ecuador.
Jason’s Pick: Look for Argentina and their potent offense to be too much for Ecuador to handle, as I see a 2-1 win for the away team.
Peru at Columbia
The moneyline for this game has Columbia as major favorites at -400 and Peru as the underdogs at +1000 with a draw at +375.
Columbia currently has 14 points and Peru is at the bottom of group play with only 7 points. If Peru loses this match they will not play in South Africa next summer and Columbia needs to win this match to stay in the race. Defenders Ivan Corboba and Mario Yepes will be back for Columbia so their D will be tough to crack. Columbia has not played well offensively at home and playing a weak Peru team may be just what they need to snap out of their offensive slump.
Jason’s Pick: Even though Columbia has struggled at home they should dominate this game and win easily, as I see a score of 2-0 or 3-0.
Paraguay at Brazil
The moneyline for this game has Brazil as major favorites at -333 and Peru as the underdogs at +900 with a draw at +333.
These two teams are tied for the group lead with 24 points. In the last round Paraguay beat Brazil 2-0 and they have always given Brazil trouble. This game will feature the awesome offense of Brazil versus the awesome defense of Paraguay. Kaka will lead Brazil and AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato may get a start since Fabiano is suspended. Paraguay is coming off a tough home loss to Chile last week, as they may have looked ahead to this big match.
Jason’s Pick: Even though Paraguay has a solid defense Brazil will find a way to score in front of their home crowd, as I see a 2-0 or 3-0 win and that will vault Brazil to first place in the group.
Bolivia at Chile
The moneyline for this game has Chile as major favorites at -357 and Peru as the underdogs at +900 with a draw at +350.
Chile is currently in 2nd place in the group with 23 points and Bolivia is in 2nd to last place with only 12 points. If Chile wins this game they will be in good position to get a World Cup berth. Humberto Suazo and Alexis Sanchez lead a solid Chile attack and it will be tough for Bolivia to keep the home team from finding the back of the net. However, Bolivia has a legit attack and in April they scored 6 goals against Argentina in a 6-1 win.
Jason’s Pick: Chile has not lost in their last 4 WC qualifying games (3 wins 1 tie) and they will not lose tonight, as they are at home and their offense is clicking. I see a high scoring game and for Chile to win 4-2.
Uruguay at Venezuela
The moneyline for this game has Uruguay as slight favorites at +135 and Venezuela as the slight underdog at +175 with a draw at +220.
Uruguay is currently tied for 5th place with Ecuador with 17 points and Venezuela is right behind them with 16 points. This is a huge game for both teams, as the loser will have an uphill battle to get a WC berth. Uruguay lost to Brazil 4-0 at home last week and their goalie Sebastian Viera did not have a good game and will be replaced by Juan Castillo. Uruguay will get Cristian “Cebolla” Rodriguez and captain Diego Lugano back from suspension and they feature Diego Forlan on offense. Forlan led Spain’s La Liga in goals this season (32) and he will be counted on to score in this game after getting blanked against Brazil. Venezuela has won 2 WC qualifying matches in a row and they have a solid defense.
Jason’s Pick: This is a tough game to call, but with the offense Uruguay has I see them winning a low scoring game by one goal, but a draw in this match is a good possibility.