Venezuela vs. Peru Betting Tip, Prediction & Odds
The second game of the 46th Copa America and Group A will be played between Venezuela and slight favourites Peru.
Venezuela vs. Peru
- Copa America
- Arena do Gremio, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Saturday 15 June
- 20:00 UK Time
Venezuela vs. Peru Game Preview
Peru have the second-best chances to win Group A but it is hard to believe they will leapfrog the hosts Brazil at the top of the table. However, progression to the knockout phase is widely expected and this tilt with Venezuela could decide which team will end in the second position. We can’t forget that two of three teams will also advance to the quarter-finals even if they end third in the group stage.
Venezuela Team News
Venezuela are without a major trophy in their history and they never reached the final of the Copa America. The fourth position in 2011 is La Vinotinto’s best result at this tournament when they lost to Paraguay on penalties in the semis and then suffered a 4-1 defeat to Peru in the battle for the bronze medal. Interestingly, Venezuela were drawn in the same group as Brazil back then and they finished in the second place.
Head coach Rafael Dudamel’s squad is a mixture of experience and youth and some of the players are playing together for national teams for years. Torino midfielder Tomas Rincon is the captain of this generation while Newcastle United striker Salomon Rondon is certainly the best players in the squad. Rondon managed to pass Juan Arango as Venezuela’s top scorer after his brace in a friendly match against the USA and now he has 24 goals to his name for the country. Only two of 23 selected players are playing in Venezuela; third-choice goalkeeper Joel Graterol and midfielder Arquímedes Figuera.
Venezuela Latest Form
Venezuela ended a three-game winless run earlier this week, and though victories have been sparse for Rafael Dudamel’s side, they tend to be dominant when they do win. All of their previous four victories have come by a margin of 2+ goals, and they conceded just one goal across those four games. La Vinotinto have now netted in 11 consecutive games, but a leaky defence seems to be their greatest bar to victory right now. They have managed just three clean sheets in that same 11-game sequence, with both teams scoring in eight of those matches.
Salomon Rondon is in lethal form, with four goals across his previous four games for club and country. Seven of Venezuela’s last nine goals scored have come in the first half. In the most recent Copa America, only two sides received more yellow cards than Venezuela (13).
Peru Team News
Peru won the Copa America on two occasions (1939 and 1975) and since then, they won three bronze medals including the latest two in 2011 and 2015 while they finished in the fifth place in 2016. Los Incas are the second favourite to win Group A and although it is not expected to end ahead of Brazil on the table, they should progress to the knockout phase without problems.
Head coach Ricardo Gareca has been at charge since 2015 and he managed to take this team to the 2018 World Cup in Russia for the first time in 36 years. He has a rather experienced side at his disposal and will rely on star forwards Paolo Guerrero and Jefferson Farfan to lead the team through the group stage and to the quarter-finals. Guerrero is at the top of all-time scoring list with 35 goals while Farfan has 26 goals for Peru. Santos midfielder Christian Cueva, Cruz Azul midfielder Yoshimar Yotun, and Rayo Vallecano full-back Luis Advíncula are also the players who can make difference on the pitch.
Peru Latest Form
Struggling Peru have won just two of their previous seven matches (W2, D1, L4). The biggest issue for Ricardo Gareca’s side has been their tendency to collapse after going behind, as each of their last six defeats has seen them concede 2+ goals.
On the flip side, all of their previous six wins have been accompanied by a clean sheet, illustrating that keeping the opposition out tends to secure them a positive result. Peru’s reliance on scoring first is further reflected by the fact that just two of Peru’s previous eight matches have seen both teams score.
Peruvian poacher Paolo Guerrero scored when these two nations last met in 2017, and he can boast five goals in his previous six matches at club level.
Venezuela vs. Peru Head to Head
The rivals have met 26 times before and Peru has 16 victories, Venezuela have been better on six occasions while four tilts finished without a winner. Peru’s last four H2H matches against Venezuela have yielded a record of W1, D2, L1. Notably, seven of the ten goals scored (either way) across those matches came in the second half while the last two tilts ended as a draw.
Venezuela vs. Peru Betting Tip
Los Incas are not as dominant against Venezuela as it was the case in the previous century and considering that the last two meetings ended 2-2, we suggest you go with a draw in this one. Venezuela is in a slightly better form at the moment but they are not good enough to get three points here, so you can opt for a draw at 2/1 with 888Sport.
Venezuela allowed at least a goal in six of their last seven matches but they also scored in each of their previous 11 games. Both teams to score at 11/10 with Betway is certainly the market you would like to test.
- Odds above average
- Fair new customer bonus
- Outstanding football betting selection
- Odds above average
- Fair new customer bonus
- Outstanding football betting selection