Honduras vs Costa Rica Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Honduras come into this match on the back of a heavy 6-0 defeat away to USA which has left them propping up the standings in the final stage of qualifying in this part of the world. They are still only 1 point off the automatic qualification positions though and this game promises to be a good deal tighter.

Jorge Luis Pinto is the coach of Honduras and he was the man that guided Costa Rica to the last eight of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The Costa Rican side hasn’t radically changed since so he should have a lot of inside knowledge on the Costa Rican camp. Under his stewardship, Honduras did win Copa Centroamericana in January but they’ve struggled since with 3 defeats from 4 matches including that heavy loss last week.

Costa Rica do have a bit more quality in their ranks and come here as favourites but Honduras are a tough side to beat on their own soil, so look capable of getting a result. They’ve only lost 4 of their last 26 home World Cup qualifiers and have a strong recent home record against Costa Rica.

The visitors are in 2nd place in the standing with 6 points and despite being favourites, will most likely see a point as a very good result. It would leave them well placed to make it to Russia, having already got several of their toughest fixtures out the way. Costa Rica have only won 3 of their last 10 away World Cup qualifiers and even without Pinto, they are a well-organised side, that is strong defensively and capable of frustrating Honduras.

Costa Rica have only conceded 0.55 goals per game during 2018 World Cup qualifying but they lack a bit of cutting edge at times and have only scored 7 goals in their last 9 away World Cup qualifiers.

Therefore, this is likely to be a tight game and with home advantage, Honduras ought to be much more competitive than they were against USA last week so they should have enough about them to get a result and backing the draw at 11/5 looks like it could offer the best value here.