We have our first double header of the Copa America on Saturday night and we get underway in Santa Clara in California as the two South American contenders open up Group B when Ecuador take on Venezuela.
Ecuador are fancied to go well at this tournament and have the chance to get off to a perfect start but Venezuela sit above them in World Cup qualifying and might not be the easiest nut to crack as they begin their campaign.
Where to watch
The match will be shown on Premier Sports 1 in the UK with the coverage getting started at 10.50pm ahead of the 11pm kick off.
Ecuador
Ecuador have been threatening a decent run at a tournament for a few years because at the younger age levels they have been getting deep into events and although it doesn’t always translate that form at that level develops into the same at senior level, there are a lot of stars coming through. They will probably be eyeing up those players fitting into a system for the World Cup in 2026 but they have got off to a decent start in World Cup qualifying and could be a dangerous side.
If there is a criticism of this team it would be that they don’t score enough goals. Defensively they are solid enough and don’t concede too many goals but they only have five goals in World Cup qualifying in six matches so if they are going to go deep in this competition then they are probably going to need to find a stronger goal output than that. If they can do that then this could be a very good few weeks for them.
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Venezuela
For so long, Venezuela were one of the whipping boys of South American football but they are in a rich vein of form at the minute and sit fifth in World Cup qualifying in South America with just the one defeat in their six matches. If there is a concern over them it might come in the form of the fact that they didn’t win either of their warm up games and you wonder if some of that was down to heightened expectation going into the event.
Venezuela have only scored six goals in World Cup qualifying in six matches and half of those came in one match in a win over Chile so you wonder where their goals are coming from. Only two players in their squad have more than three goals at this level and that has to be a concern. They are keeping things tighter at the back and are definitely one of the more improving sides in South America and will want a good showing here to take into the remainder of World Cup qualifying and finally get through to that tournament for the first time in their history.
Betting
We’ve already seen two matches get to the halfway point goalless and I think we have a prime contender for a third to do likewise here. These two met in World Cup qualifying back in November and the match ended 0-0 and with this match kicking off at 3pm in Santa Clara conditions aren’t exactly going to be conducive to a fast flowing game of football. There is a heat advisory warning on the west coast for Saturday so this match is going to be played in extreme conditions.
Both of these teams have the same profile in that they look structurally solid defensively but you wonder where the goals are going to come from and with Jamaica to come later in the group a draw here and take your chances against them, and to be fair Mexico aren’t unbeatable in this group either, so a draw isn’t a bad result by any stretch of the imagination. It might be that as legs tire later in the game we see this one open up a bit but I don’t expect much pace to the contest initially so the 6/4 on a third straight 0-0 at half time appeals here.
Tips
Back 0-0 first half score for a 3/10 stake at 2.50 with Unibet
