It is must not lose for Uruguay in the Copa America 2016 in the early hours of Friday morning when they face Venezuela in their second match in the tournament in Philadelphia.
After losing to Mexico in their opener a second successive defeat will see them heading home at the earliest opportunity. Venezuela beat Jamaica in their first match and a second win will see them safely into the quarter finals long before going anywhere near their final game with Mexico.
When Diego Godin equalised against Mexico you got the feeling Uruguay were about to go on and win the match but they succumbed late on and now the pressure is right on them in this match although they should remember Mexico look a really good side.
If the Uruguay which played the second half of the match against Mexico turn up here they should be fine. One defeat doesn’t make them a bad team and they went into this tournament in decent form so they shouldn’t be too downbeat.
If ever a side needed any sort of win it was Venezuela but even though they beat Jamaica you would be strongly pushing the boat out to describe it as any way convincing and in the end they were fortunate not to concede an equalising goal.
It was a boost to win the game but Venezuela players and management team will know they have to play better here if they are to avoid defeat but if they can avoid defeat they will be in an excellent position to push on and qualify for the knockout stages.
Team News
Luis Suarez has been ruled out of this match for Uruguay which is a major blow so he will be missing this game and they will be without Matias Vecino after the midfielder was dismissed against Mexico. Alvaro Gonzalez could be his replacement.
Venezuela could go in with an unchanged side here after their opening win although they might want to set up a little more defensively in which case Josef Martinez could sit this one out despite scoring the winner against Jamaica.
Head to Head
Uruguay and Venezuela have only met on 28 occasions which is quite a low number considering they are in the same continent and things. Uruguay have a 17-4 lead to their name with seven draws. Venezuela haven’t beat Uruguay since 2006 but four of the last seven meetings have ended all square.
Betting
Uruguay might have been well beaten last time out and they might be without Luis Suarez but I still can’t believe we’re getting 1.75 on them to win this game. That’s just crazy. I know there is a recent history of draws when these two meet but sometimes you have to put the past behind you and bet on the here and now and this Venezuela side is not a good one.
They only had one win in 15 matches entering this tournament and for all they managed to succeed in winning against Jamaica nothing they did suggested they are about to launch a decent run of form.
Instead I’m happy to take the pre-tournament form at face value here and go with much the better side of the two. That is Uruguay and I’m happy to get on at this price. Before the event I was expecting to have to take a -1 handicap at the very least so a straight win at this price is gold.
Tips
Back Uruguay to beat Venezuela for a 5/10 stake at 1.75 with Ladbrokes
Back them here:
