GROUP C favourites Brazil make their Copa America bow late on Sunday night but how will they fare against Peru? Mark O’Haire (@MarkOHaire) takes a look at the betting.
Brazil v Peru | Sunday 22.30 | Premier Sports
Brazil’s 2014 World Cup dreams were shredded by Germany in embarrassing circumstances but now under the charge of Dunga, the Selecao have returned to the winning machine we’re accustomed to. It’s 10 straight friendly wins under the 1994 World Cup winning captain, conceding just twice.
This side is far from flashy, far from jaw-dropping and far from exciting but they’ve proven to be mighty effective. Brazil are now a functional unit, opting for more protection and heaping even more responsibility on Neymar’s shoulders – the Barcelona hit-man skippers the side and will be the leading light for creativity and goals.
The aforementioned 10 wins have included victories against the likes of Colombia, Argentina and France and it’s unsurprising to see the Selecao rated as such heavy favourites to begin their campaign with three points. The eight-times Copa champions are 1/3 (BetVictor) but have often struggled to put away Peru as comfortably as you might expect – only twice in the past 18 years have the South American giants scored more than twice against the Incas.
Peru finished third in 2011 but a pre-tournament draw against Mexico marked their only warm-up game and there’s a big concern that Ricardo Gareca’s troops will arrive undercooked in Chile. The Incas have played just twice since November and are without a competitive fixture since October 2013.
Gareca’s side will no doubt look to frustrate their more illustrious opponents and their rotten road record (losing 21 of their last 22 competitive away games) means anything better than defeat will be greeted warmly. Still, I’m not prepared to invest faith in a Dunga-led side putting Peru to the sword.
Just four years ago Brazil flopped against Venezuela and twice against Paraguay and this century they’ve scored just once in four opening Copa matches. In World Cup action the Selecao have managed curtain-raiser wins in all four openers during that spell but only once managed a win by two-goals or more.
Brazil can be backed to win to nil at 11/10 with BetVictor and I’ll happily take an interest for starters. During Dunga’s previous reign in charge, the Selecao W17-D8-L3 in competitive games, keeping 15 clean sheets. But with six of the last seven meetings between the two nations returning Under 2.5 Goals as well as six of Brazil’s last 10 and five of Peru’s previous eight, a low-scoring duel seems likely.
For a bigger price we can sink our teeth into BetVictor’s 29/20 on a 1-0-2-0 or 3-0 correct score win under their Correct Score Groups market. Six of those aforementioned World Cup wins have been by those margins with Peru’s last four losses also following suit. But we’ll also snap up those 5/4 quotes from Sportingbet on the showdown featuring Under 2.5 Goals.
Best Bets
Brazil v Peru – Brazil to win 1-0-2-0 or 3-0 (29/20 BetVictor)
Brazil v Peru – Under 2.5 Goals (5/4 Sportingbet)
Neymar 4/1 To Score At Anytime With Betfair
Following an outstanding campaign with Barcelona, Neymar is available to back at a huge 4/1 to score at anytime against Peru.
This offer is available to new Betfair customers so if you’re yet to sign-up with the firm, now’s the time to get involved.
