Uruguay vs Venezuela Betting Tips & Predictions

Monday’s clash with Mexico was not the start that Uruguay had envisioned, and it just never looked like going their way from the start. The players were left confused and angry as the Chilean national anthem was played instead of their own before kick off, and within five minutes they were a goal down after Alvaro Pereira deflected the ball into his own net. Things went from bad to worse as a high challenge from Matias Vecino led to them ending the first half with ten men.

Uruguay did manage to get back into it with a captains goal from Diego Godin, and Uruguay started to exert some more pressure then but struggled without Luis Suarez to put the Mexican defence to the sword. Mexico then went down to ten men after Andres Guardado was dismissed, but despite all their late pressure it was the oldest player on the pitch; Mexico captain Rafael Marquez, who put the next ball in with a thunderous strike. Hector Herrera added a late third as Uruguay pushed for an equaliser.

This ended Uruguay’s four match unbeaten streak and put their chances of finishing top of their Copa America group in severe jeopardy. Despite the result they played fairly well and will feel much more confident when Luis Suarez comes back. For now, they should have enough quality without him to win the remaining two matches.

Uruguay have beaten Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Trinidad & Tobago in recent times and only lost to the in form Ecuador and then Mexico on Monday. They earned a draw at Brazil as well, so this defeat shouldn’t knock their confidence too much.

Venezuela managed to get three points off Jamaica after clinging on to a 1-0 lead. They took the lead in the 15th minute when Torino striker Josef Martinez scored, and their task was made much easier eight minutes later when Jamaica captain Rodolph Austin was sent off for a bad challenge. In all honesty Venezuela performed poorly after this and Jamaica deserved a point really, but their three points leaves them within reach of qualifying for the knockout rounds if they get a point against Uruguay and Jamaica lose again against Mexico.

This was only Venezuela’s 2nd win in their last 16 matches though, so I wouldn’t hold your breath for them. They have failed to beat the likes of Guatemala, Panama, and Galicia during this period alongside nine defeats to various nations.

Uruguay have enough quality to get a win here, and despite the Venezuelans almost guaranteed defensive stature I don’t think they’ll struggle. They were unlucky against Mexico and just had a bad night all round, whereas Venezuela can count themselves lucky to have gotten a win against the ten men of Jamaica. This makes odds of 8/13 for a Uruguay Win look good value to me, so I’m backing that along with a 2-0 correct score prediction at 11/2.