In the early hours of Sunday, Ecuador and Venezuela begin their Group B campaign at the Copa America with a victory.
Ecuador are on a rollFelix Sanchez’s team, despite facing back-to-back defeats against Italy and Argentina, have shown signs of recovery. They have bounced back with two straight victories, scoring at least two goals in the wins over Bolivia and Honduras.
Ecuador's last two games have been rare low-scoring outings, as their previous six games had all produced under 2.5 goals.
They head into this clash looking to end a woeful recent record at the Copa America. They are winless in nine games at the competition, and a 3-0 defeat against Argentina in their last match ended a run of three straight draws.
Despite their recent low-scoring encounters, eight of their last 11 games at the Copa America have produced over 2.5 goals.
Venezuela hoping to end winless runLa Vinotinto has failed to win any of their last five internationals, having picked up just three draws and suffered two defeats.
Their recent games haven’t exactly been goal-filled, with under 2.5 goals scored in ten of the previous 12 outings.
Venezuela’s recent record at the Copa America is poor. They have claimed just one win in their last ten games in the competition. The poor run includes failing to win any of their last five Copa games, picking up just two draws, and suffering three defeats.
A goal-shy attack is one of the main factors in Venezuela’s recent poor results in the Copa America. They have failed to score in the competition in six of their last eight games.
What am I backing?This could be a massive game for both teams in terms of qualification for the knockout stages of the competition. This could be a close encounter, which is unlikely to be a goal-fest. With that in mind, the bet I am backing is under 2.5 goals scored.