The second half of the Monday night double header in the Copa America sees two of the lesser sides in Group A going at it when Paraguay take on Bolivia in a match both teams will probably be looking at thinking they can win.
With Argentina and Chile to come later in the group there is a need for both teams to get something from this match and so it will be interesting to see who goes after the result and who looks to protect themselves from defeat.
Paraguay
I’ve already highlighted the reasons behind liking Paraguay in this tournament when I selected them as my outright pick. They are hard to beat and are moulding themselves to get some technical players in the right areas and might be about to enjoy a run of decent results at this level. The obvious criticism is that they still don’t win enough matches and that is fair enough but winning is a habit so when they start they might keep going.
The important thing for them is that they are not losing many matches. The only defeat they have suffered in World Cup qualifying so far was against Brazil last week. That will give them confidence going into this tournament and with a couple of strikers beginning to make themselves known at this level they will feel as though they can get off to a promising start in this campaign. There is some pressure on Paraguay because on paper this is the easier chance of a win in the group.
Bolivia
When Bolivia lost their opening three matches in the World Cup qualifying competition it looked like they were going to be the whipping boys once again but it should be noted that the three sides they lost to were Brazil, Argentina and Peru and there is no disgrace in any of those. They could easily have fallen in a heap from there but to their credit they have bounced back with a win and two draws in their latest three matches to build some confidence going into this tournament.
Bolivia actually have the leading scorer in that qualifying competition in Marcelo Martins Moreno and that is quite something when you consider the talent that is in South America right now. If they can get the ball to him in the right areas he could be the one to lead them to causing a surprise or two in this group. You sense Bolivia are trying to find a way to be dangerous even if it does mean they leave themselves a little vulnerable.
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Team News
Angel Romero is turning himself into a star for Paraguay and he and Miguel Almiron are dangerous to any side at the top end of the pitch. The Premier League will be doubly represented in this match as West Ham defender Fabian Balbuena is expected to start.
Bolivia are once again going to rely on their experienced campaigners in a bid to get them up and running in style. Marcelo Martins Moreno has been superb in World Cup qualifying and all eyes will be on him to see if he can continue in that vein here.
Betting
These two played out a 2-2 draw in World Cup qualifying recently and I think we might see a few goals here with both teams likely to think this is their best chance of getting a positive result. We might not see it end to end right from the beginning but there is enough time in this tournament to recover from a bad result so there is no need for either team to be fearful. We saw both teams look to get after the other in the later game on Sunday and I expect similar here.
That makes me think the best bet in this match is for both teams to score. Both sides have a form leader of the line in Angel Romero for Paraguay and Marcelo Moreno for the Bolivians and if those two players can find place around the box throughout the contest we should be getting some goals here. You can get 5/4 on both teams to score in this game and when you factor in that their last meeting was 2-2 I like that to land.
Tips
Back Both teams to score for a 3/10 stake at 2.25 with Sky Bet
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