GROUP A returns to the spotlight on Monday night with Ecuador and Bolivia looking to bag a first win of the Copa America. Mark O’Haire (@MarkOHaire) takes a look at the betting.
Ecuador v Bolivia | Monday 22.00 | Premier Sports
Hands up, the Copa America has proven a cruel mistress in the first round of fixtures. Living up to its billing as a tournament for surprises and upsets, three short-priced favourites have flopped already and I’ve managed to stumble into a rotten run of results. Still, I’d like to think I’ve been on the right lines for the majority of matches…
Ecuador have enjoyed an extra day’s rest coming into this showdown having fallen to a 2-0 loss to Chile in the tournament opener. Gustavo Quinteros' men were made to pay for defensive lapses but as expected, looked dangerous when coming forward. Enner Valencia rattled the bar and should have done better with other opportunities.
Without a win in 10 Copa America outings La Tri are desperate to get their campaign up and running and they should fancy their chances of extending their current unbeaten record of 10 matches against Bolivia. It’s 14 losses in 16 Copa games now as Ecuador tend to their best work at their altitude home of Quito but a similar theme applies to El Verde.
Bolivia arguably had the better of their goalless draw against invitees Mexico but with just one victory in their past 18 internationals, it’s hard to find the faith in Mauricio Soria's charges bagging maximum points in Valparaiso. Still, there are positives for the Group A underdogs who managed their first competitive clean sheet in 30 outings last time out.
Bolivia haven’t progressed beyond the Copa America group stages since 1997 but Soria has been bullish in his dealings with the press regarding their chances of upsetting Ecuador. However, the best option might be to back El Verde to score on Monday night with La Tri leaking in nine of their last 11 competitive fixtures.
Ecuador themselves boast a solid record in front of goal, netting in 16 of their previous 21 meaningful matches and should be presented with a few more goalscoring chances this time around. Both Teams To Score has been chalked up at 13/10 with Coral and I’m happy to be involved at those quotes.
This bet has proven successful in 11/21 of Ecuador’s competitive clashes and 12/21 of Bolivia’s, making the chances of a repeat around 50%. The two teams know victory is important if their knockout dreams are to be realised so fingers crossed we’ll see a front-foot attacking encounter.
Best Bets
Ecuador v Bolivia – Both Teams To Score (13/10 Coral)
Your View
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