Venezuela vs Panama Betting Tips

If anything Panama are a better side than Honduras and progressed much further in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July, where they were unfortunate to lose in the Semi-Finals to eventual winners Mexico.

Venezuela have improved a great deal as a footballing nation in recent years but that result wasn’t ideal preparation for 4 World Cup qualifiers coming up in the next 2 months.

It could have been a different game had West Brom striker Salomon Rondón converted a first half penalty but they were outclassed in the 2nd half with the Central Americans bagging 3 goals. A repeat is unlikely here as Panama, aren’t prolific goalscorers but the visitors aren’t a bad side by any means.

They frequently upset supposedly stronger nations and won their 3rd/4th place play-off against USA on American soil in the Gold Cup. They won 2-1 on their last visit to Venezuela in 2010, but more than anything are a well-organised outfit and tough to beat.

They may have been narrowly beaten 1-0, by a late Uruguay goal on Friday but prior to that had only lost 3 times within normal time in 18 matches. Venezuela don’t possess quite as much quality as Uruguay and you can certainly see Panama bagging a result here against their near neighbours at 7/10.

In terms of a correct score, you’d expect something of a response from Venezuela, who may make multiple changes from the side that lost heavily to Honduras. Panama drew all six of their Gold Cup games 1-1 in regulation time in the summer and this has the makings of a very close game.

The visitors probably have just about enough to compound Venezuela’s misery with a win here, but often lack the ambition to secure such results. Therefore it may be wise to opt for another 1-1 draw involving Panama at 11/2.