Ecuador vs Bolivia Predictions

Can Bolivia end their horrendous run of form with a surprise victory away at Ecuador this week? The visitors come into this one on the back of an awful run, while they had a tough time at the Copa America this summer. These are two sides who each exited that competition at the group stage in Brazil, but they have a chance to turn things around in a few months. The pair are gearing up for the 2020 Copa America, the fourth edition of the tournament in five years. How will their preparations fare in this friendly clash?

Ecuador are a side in transition, as they look to move out some of their established stars in favour of an exciting crop of talent. This year saw their Under 20 side win the South American Championships and finish third at the World Cup. That came after their run to the final in the South American Championships in 2017, so there’s some consistent success behind the newcomers. That has allowed Ecuador to move in some young stars, who are set to be the future of the national side. They got off to a good start at the weekend winning away to Copa America finalists Peru.

Bolivia are one of South America’s worst-performing sides, having finished the previous World Cup qualifying campaign with only 14 points from 18 games. They didn’t boost that reputation with their Copa America displays, which brought three defeats for them in a timid group stage exit. That made it six straight defeats for Bolivia, who last won a game in October last year when they met Myanmar.

The visitors are in awful form, which suggests that they will struggle here. They tend to struggle on the road, having lost all nine of their away trips in World Cup qualifying. They use the extreme conditions at home to their advantage, with the altitude of La Paz tending to put off visitors. However, Bolivia are on their travels this week, heading to an Ecuador side who will be targeting a victory.

Having seen off Peru, the hosts are likely to be on a high ahead of a winnable home game. They have won six of their last seven home-friendly clashes, winning three of the last four to nil. On top of that, Bolivia have failed to score in their last five trips, losing three on the spin to nil. That has us backing Ecuador to win to nil, while we’re backing them to repeat their 1-0 success.