Bolivia vs Paraguay prediction: SOUTH AMERICA: World Championship – Qualification betting tips on match 2024-11-18 20:00.
[p]Sitting four points adrift of the direct World Cup qualification (WCQ) places with 12 points ahead of this round, Bolivia need a change of fortunes here after conceding ten times without reply across their last two WCQs. A visit from Paraguay could prove fruitful as the designated away side hasn’t won any of the last nine H2Hs, a run which included only two draws, yet that could have something to do with the significant altitude difference between these nations. [/p]
[p]Sitting at 4150 metres above sea level, Bolivia’s El Alto home is a brutally challenging environment for visiting sides. That goes some way to explaining the fact that whilst they’ve failed to win all but one competitive away game since the 2015 Copa América, La Verde have at least won three of their last four home WCQs without reply, a confidence-boosting trend ahead of what could be Bolivia’s sixth straight home H2H WCQ victory. [/p]
[p]Sitting four points above their hosts, Paraguay have an opportunity to put distance between themselves and the chasing pack if they can record a third straight WCQ victory for the first time since 2009. Such an outcome would perhaps be less surprising than Paraguay’s outsider tag suggests, as their current unbeaten run includes wins over both Brazil and Argentina (W3, D2), whilst they’ve come from behind to win 2-1 in their last two outings. [/p]
[p]That form is promising, but Paraguay are similar to their hosts in that playing away can be rather burdensome. Failing to score in each of the last 12 away WCQs (D5, L7), a rather tense affair seems likely, with each of the last five games in that sequence producing fewer than two goals. Paraguay’s last WCQ away win, all the way back in 2020, was a similarly drab 1-0 success in Venezuela. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Part of a considerable BolĂvar contingent, Bolivia’s Henry Vaca has picked up three yellow cards and two goal contributions (G1, A1) across his last five WCQ appearances. As well as scoring his last two Torino goals away from home, Paraguay’s Antonio Sanabria has scored three of his nation’s last four goals, helping them secure six points in the process. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Just two of Bolivia’s last ten WCQ home games saw both teams score (W6, L4). [/p]
[p][i]Written by Matthew Billon[/i][/p]