Brazil vs Venezuela Betting Tips

They are perhaps fortunate the final game of Neymar’s suspension coincides with one of the easiest qualifying matches and not another tough game like their trip to Chile last week, which ended in a 2-0 defeat. This is Brazil’s first competitive match on home soil since the disastrous end to their 2014 World Cup.

As such, the hosts will want to make an impression but unquestionably there will be a lot of pressure on them. Staging this game in Fortaleza rather than the cauldron of Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo was perhaps a wise choice and locals will be excited for another rare chance to see the Seleção in action rather than baying for blood, which may have been the case further south.

This is a much-changed Brazilian squad from the one that finished the World Cup but you sense it has been change for the sake of change rather than any widescale improvements. Even the new captain, Miranda was not part of the World Cup squad and he will be without his central defensive partner here after David Luiz picked up an injury during the defeat in Santiago.

Venezuela also got off to a poor start, losing 1-0 at home to Paraguay and they’ve now lost 4 of their last 5 matches since making a winning start to Copa America. One of those defeats was a 2-1 defeat to Brazil in their final group game in Chile.

They will be facing a weaker Brazilian side here though with Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho, who both started that match also out injured. Venezuela can be a difficult side to break down and had a better defensive record than the likes of Chile and Uruguay last time around in World Cup qualifying on this continent. They also drew 0-0 the last time they played a competitive game in Brazil in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and are likely to set their stall out to frustrate the hosts here.

With Brazil missing almost all of their main attacking threats, Venezuela should be able to make this a really close game again and they are good value with a +1.5 Asian Handicap at 21/20.

This isn’t an inspiring Brazilian squad by any means but there should still be enough quality here to seal a win against a Venezuelan side that isn’t at all prolific. South American qualifying could be a long hard slog for Brazil and there are likely to be more setbacks along the way but they ought to edge this really at home to one of the weaker teams and are decent value at 11/2 to win 1-0.