The second match in the Copa America on Tuesday evening sees the tournament hosts looking to book their safe passage into the knockout stages, and depending on the result of the other game earlier in the night, Brazil could even be confirmed as group winners should they beat Venezuela in Salvador.
Venezuela picked up a creditable draw in their opening match and they will know that with Bolivia to come, if they can avoid defeat in this outing then they are going to be nicely played to make it into the knockout stages.
Brazil
Although they won their first match 3-0, it was hard not to be a little disappointed in Brazil. I accept they were under pressure to look good as tournament hosts and all that but for 45 minutes at least, good was the least they looked. They looked quite bland. It all changed when a penalty put them ahead but I would want to see a lot more from them here before I’m taken in by them. Their scope for improvement should be vast I would suggest.
The problem with them being average in that first game is we didn’t really find out much about them. Or did we? Maybe they are not the side we expect them to be. At the very least we should see what they are made of defensively here. It might be that the late injury to Neymar set them back a touch but they’ve had a few days to build on that and I would expect to see more here.
Venezuela
Confidence was high in the Venezuelans going into the game but I felt they were caught in two minds in their first match against Peru. I intimated in my preview of that match that such an occurrence could happen and it duly did. I suspect that was more down to the dynamic of this group as opposed to anything significant but we will only truly know whether that is the case or not as we go along.
For the large part against Peru, Venezuela looked solid enough defensively. They will need to remain tight here if they are going to get anything from the game, but they will also be hoping, and needing, to show a little more in attacking areas than they did in that opening game. They are very much a counter attacking side which is fine, but they have to be able to get plenty of men into those counters to be effective.
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Brazil went with Roberto Firmino up front in their first match but you would have to suggest that didn’t really work for them. Although it was against a tiring defence they looked better when Gabriel Jesus was introduced and he could start here.
Venezuela will be without Luis Mago who is suspended after his red card in the draw with Peru on Saturday. Ronald Hernandez came on after the dismissal and would look the natural replacement for him here.
Betting
I understand why most judges would expect Brazil to win this match but they are going to have to show a whole lot more than they did against Bolivia I fancy. I suspect it will be a similar test in that Venezuela will sit deep however unlike Bolivia, I believe Vene will offer something challenging on the counter attack and I wouldn’t be surprised if they find the back of the net.
This is a perfect sort of game for Venezuela. They are not expected to win so they can wind up and have a go, much like when they faced Argentina earlier in the year, albeit that was a friendly. There is a goal threat in Venezuela but even then I wouldn’t be surprised if they shackle Brazil somewhat. The outsiders are getting a two goal start on the Asian lines and that is just marginally too big for me. I’ll play that.
Tips
WON – Back Venezuela (+2AH) to beat Brazil for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with ComeOn
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