Bolivia vs Venezuela prediction: SOUTH AMERICA: World Championship – Qualification betting tips on match 2024-09-04 20:00.
[p]Two nations who find themselves in very different recent form clash during the next round of CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifying, as Bolivia look to take full advantage of their home surroundings against Venezuela. To this point, it’s proven to be a dismal showing overall for the hosts, who have lost five of their six WCQ outings (W1) whilst conceding 14 goals in the process – comfortably the most of any side ahead of matchday seven. [/p]
[p]Those results make up a dismal run of just two wins from their last 17 matches (D1, L14), as their dreams of reaching a first World Cup since 1994 remain slim. Failing to score in nine of those matches also highlights their lack of firepower, but a silver lining may instead be found when looking at their H2H form, as they have won eight of their ten prior home qualifying clashes with this opposition by a combined scoreline of 34-7 (D1, L1). [/p]
[p]Whilst that will serve as a warning to visiting Venezuela, they arrive in La Paz on the back of an impressive Copa América showing over the summer. After winning all three of their group stage matches, Fernando Batista’s side eventually fell to Canada on penalties at the quarter-final stage but even despite that, they will have taken plenty of pride from their tournament performance after arriving in the United States as sizeable underdogs. [/p]
[p]They return to WCQ action sat in fourth spot having lost just one of their opening six matches (W2, D3), heady heights for a nation who have never qualified for the World Cup before. Their solid defensive structure has been key to that early success in particular, keeping three clean sheets across their last five WCQ matches – as many as in their prior 22 such matches combined! [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Remarkably, Bolivia’s 27-man squad for this match has only combined to score 12 international goals in total, though a third of those have been netted by Ramiro Vaca (4) which have all come in positive results for his side (W3, D1). Venezuela talisman Salomón Rondón netted three goals at the recent Copa América – only three players have scored more than his two CONMEBOL WCQ strikes in this cycle. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Bolivia’s last five matches have seen eight goals scored on or before the 25th minute.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Nathan Evans[/i][/p]