Copa America: Ecuador Head North in Search of Points

Copa America: Ecuador Head North in Search of Points

Venezuela vs Ecuador

Ecuador travels to the north coast of South America on Sunday to take on Venezuela with the aim of getting its Copa America campaign off the mark.

Venezuela sit in third place in Copa America Group B, a place and point ahead of Ecuador but having played a game more and both teams will be seeking a first win in the 2021 competition. 

The hosts have a single point having drawn with Colombia, while Ecuador lost narrowly to Los Cafeteros. 

The visitors have better form over the past 12 months and their hosts are short of numbers with their squad hit by coronavirus. So while this could be a fascinating encounter, La Tri can go into the game with some confidence.             

Talking Points 

Venezuela’s COVID strife 

La Vinotinto has toiled in the South American qualifying group for the World Cup 2022, winning just one of their opening six matches including a home victory over Chile. 

And while that’s an impressive result, five losses mean they sit second bottom of the table and they’re virtually out of the hunt. With just one point from their opening two Copa America matches, the hosts desperately need to find another win from somewhere.

But just 24 hours before the start of this competition, 12 of their playing and coaching staff tested positive for COVID-19 and they started their campaign without defenders Wilker Angel and Rolf Feltscher, so it was little surprise that La Vinotinto opened up with a 3-0 humbling at the hands of Brazil.

But with the Copa America 2021 betting odds holding the Selecao up as clear favourites, that is no disgrace. However, six of Jose Peseiro’s Copa America squad are now in isolation including Atlanta United striker Josef Martinez and the experienced midfield duo of Romulo Otero and Jefferson Savarino.

La Vinotinto followed their opener with another tough game against Colombia and this time they grinded out a goalless draw, but it will be difficult to repeat that feat against Ecuador in such difficult circumstances. 

At 30th in the world ranking, Venezuela are only five places behind their highest ever position achieved in 2019, but they need a turnaround fairly quickly to avoid slipping down the rankings. 

Ecuador trying to rediscover the winning habit

The visitors arrive in Venezuela on a run of three consecutive defeats, to Brazil and Peru in the World Cup qualifiers. And then they lost their Copa America opener in a tight match against Colombia, losing out to the only goal of the game. 

But, before this run of defeats, Ecuador had won four on the bounce, including a 4-2 victory over Uruguay and a 6-1 hammering of Colombia.

When they were 4-0 up at the break against Colombia, they still managed a big win despite ending up with 10 men when Gonzalo Plata was sent off.         

At 53rd place in the FIFA World Rankings, La Tri are 23 places behind Venezuela but they are doing pretty well in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, sitting third in the South American table behind only Brazil and Argentina. 

Head coach Gustavo Alfaro is now tasking his players with bringing the same success to their Copa America 2021 results.

Alfaro has a fit squad and plenty of experience to call upon. 

Goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez skippers the side. And at the other end of the pitch, Enner Valencia is still a handful at 31 years old, scoring 31 goals in 58 games.

Alongside Valencia, Toluca’s 25-year-old striker Michael Estrada could add to his 16 caps in search of his fifth international goal. He scored in the rout over Colombia and is growing in confidence.   

History

Venezuela’s best showing at the Copa America was a fourth-placed finish in 2011 while 

Ecuador have finished fourth in the competition on two occasions in 1959 and 1993. In 2006, La Tri reached the knockout stage of the World Cup.

The head-to-heads are in the visitors’ favour and they arrive in Venezuela unbeaten in their last six meetings with La Vinotinto, winning three and drawing three. They should have a big psychological advantage coming into this clash.   

Recent form favours La Tri also. La Vinotinto come into the game with only one win from their last eight outings, while Ecuador have won four.

Betting Tip

Ecuador Asian Handicap -0.75 @ 1.99

Ecuador is at SBOTOP odds of 1.71 to win this game, while the draw is at 3.50 and Venezuela is at 4.40 to win.

All things being equal, this would be a tight game. The hosts are higher ranked but have struggled to get results in either the World Cup or Copa America over the past 12 months, while their visitors have been going well and just need to rediscover their form.

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

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