The Copa America continues with another double header of action on Friday evening with the opening match of the two seeing Chile taking on Bolivia in a Group A clash in Cuiaba as the two teams reach the halfway mark in their group campaign.
These two teams both failed to win their opening match so there is a little bit of pressure on them to perform in this game and make up for that. Should either lose this one it would leave them having a bit of work to do to secure their progress.
Chile
There were questions over whether this Chile side were a little too beyond their prime heading into the tournament but an opening draw against Argentina suggests that those concerns might not have any merit to them. Nevertheless they won’t want to be failing to win here else though questions will come flooding back. We actually saw Chile play for the full 90 minutes in the first game so suggestions that they will lack legs doesn’t really carry any weight.
Where there were question marks over Chile in that opening game was defensively and that might be an issue the longer they go in the competition. The good news is that on paper at least they have got their toughest group match out of the way and now they can get to work in pushing themselves into the best qualifying position and getting a smoother path when they get to the knockout stages. The earlier they qualify the quicker than can rest the elder statesman in their squad.
Bolivia
There was an air of that this tournament might not be the disastrous campaigns that previous ones have been heading into the competition but then on the eve of it their captain and top scorer in World Cup qualifying, Marcelo Martins, tested positive for Covid-19 and they were without him for the opening match and will continue to be without him. That is a huge blow. He is probably as important to a side as any in the tournament.
To their credit, Bolivia took the game to Paraguay in their opening match but when they were reduced to 10 men it was a matter of time before they surrendered their 1-0 lead and then they had put in so much effort they were unable to hold out for a draw. Their positive attitude when they had 11 men was refreshing though and hopefully we get to see more of that here. They might need it because they didn’t look great defensively.
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Team News
It is rare that many changes are made to this Chile side. Alexis Sanchez is still rated as doubtful for the game so it might be that the Chileans go in with an unchanged side. Blackburn Rovers forward Ben Brereton came off the bench in the opener and will hope to push for a starting place.
Bolivia remain without their captain and their talisman Marcelo Martins and they are going to have to do without Jaume Cuellar who is suspended after his red card in the opening game. Juan Carlos Arce could be the one to come in.
Betting
I’m not going to get massively involved in this game. On one hand we have the team who have a lot of aging legs in it and on the other we have an improving Bolivia but one which Covid-19 has ravaged the life out of and who were given a good run around by Paraguay just a few days ago. I would expect Chile to win the match but quotes of 1/3 don’t really inspire me on a team who haven’t won many matches in recent times.
With all that in mind I’ll just play Arturo Vidal to score anytime. He should have scored against Argentina when he saw his penalty saved but he is always getting into the box and remains a goal threat and against a side who struggle to track midfield runners that could be significant. There is always the chance of Chile winning a penalty against tired legs so Vidal shouldn’t lack for scoring opportunities and at 2/1 rates as a fair anytime pick.
Tips
Back A.Vidal anytime scorer for a 2/10 stake at 3.00 with BetVictor
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