World Cup 2018 CONMEBOL Qualification continues this week, with Chile hosting Paraguay in Macul on Friday morning. The Confederations Cup finalists are looking for three points in order to consolidate their position in the top four, whilst nothing but a win will do for the visitors, with Paraguay already finding themselves five points behind Friday’s opponents.
World Cup 2018 Qualifying – Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Macul – Friday 1st September – 00:30 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 33/10 at BetVictor |
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Chile
ParaguayMatch Preview: Chile vs Paraguay
With Chile currently sitting in the final automatic qualifying position in the standings, another three points would go a long way to helping their chances of confirming their place in Russia next year. Argentina are hot on their heels in the table, with three points a must for Juan Antonio Pizzi’s men. With Paraguay having won just five of their 14 qualifying encounters to date, the home side are the undoubted favourites with the bookmakers and punters alike.
Chile Team News & Form
Chile have been in fine form over recent months, with their Confederations Cup commitments having not hindered their hopes of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. Their last qualifying encounter came back in March, when Chile overcame Venezuela by a scoreline of 3-1. Previously, Chile had suffered a narrow defeat to rivals Argentina, helping to narrow the gap between the two teams.
Having made his first appearance for Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday, Alexis Sanchez could well line up for the home side. However, a potential transfer to Manchester City could well scupper such plans, with the likes of Eduardo Vargas and Fabián Orellana potentially filling in. However, with players such as Arturo Vidal, Pablo Hernandez and Claudio Bravo in their side, Chile are likely to have the lion’s share of the chances when they take on Paraguay.
Paraguay Team News & Form
Having been comfortably beaten by Brazil last time around back in March, Paraguay face a huge battle to get themselves back in the qualification hunt. Scoring goals has been the main issue for Francisco Arce’s side, with Paraguay having scored just 13 goals throughout qualifying, whilst conceding 21.
The emphasis is again likely to be on Gremio striker Lucas Barrios, with the forward having scored ten goals from his 34 caps to date. A lack of star names in their playing squad is certainly a concern, with the majority of their players being based in South America.
Head to Head
Since 2000, Chile have won eight of the 16 meetings between the two sides. However, it was Paraguay who came out on top back in September last year, when they shocked their rivals to earn a 2-1 victory. Before this game however, Chile had gone eight matches unbeaten against Paraguay.
Betting Odds and Predictions
There are a number of markets to look out for when looking to place a bet on this match, with Ladbrokes offering odds of 4/9 on Chile to overcome Paraguay on Friday morning. Meanwhile, for those looking to back a second successive win for Paraguay, the same bookmakers offer odds of 13/2.
Elsewhere, betting on Chile to win both the first and second half could well be fruitful, with William Hill offering their customers odds of 6/5. Chile are often involved in high-scoring matches, making odds of 9/10 for there to be over 2.5 goals at Ladbrokes extremely attractive.
Top Betting Tip
However, our top betting tip for the match is to bet on Chile to win, but both teams to score. This can be found at best odds of 5/2 at Ladbrokes.