Chile vs Venezuela Prediction & Tips
Chile have only seven games left in this Qualifying Round and the team led by Martín Lasarte will have to improve their performance considerably if they want to avoid a consecutive elimination from the World Cup – the last time this happened to them was in 2002 and 2006. However, showed good signs in their most recent clash when they beat Paraguay 2-0 – a result that ended their seven-game winless knockout streak (E2, P5).
It took 26 points to qualify for the final CONMEBOL quota en route to Russia 2018, so Chile can only afford one more defeat in the Playoffs – realistically – if it wants to use any benchmarks. However, this match is one of the simplest that remains to be played since it will face Venezuela, the third worst team in the confederation according to the FIFA Ranking. Chile’s form at home also offers reason to think positively, as they have now collected 75% of their last 36 Playoff points playing at home.
Venezuela also obtained only its second victory of this Eliminatory cycle last day – 2-1 against Ecuador – after coming back from the match and that is that it conceded the first goal of the commitment. That victory ended a ten-game winless streak (E3, P7) that began after their first Playoff win this season – a 2-1 win over Chile and nothing more.
However, any hope of making his World Cup debut seems impossible unless he wins every game he has left – something that seems unlikely considering that he has not won consecutive official victories since June 2016. Furthermore, Venezuela also has a horrible record against Chile in their 29 games to date (G3, E5, P21).
Players to watch: Blackburn star and Chile striker Ben Brereton Díaz continued his excellent form at club and national level in the previous clash against Paraguay – he already has eight goals in his last seven games. As for Venezuela, Darwin Machís scored the first goal of the season in his most recent game – it was his first official goal for the national team since June 2019.
Highlight: Eleven of Chile’s last 12 games produced two or fewer goals in total.
Chile – Venezuela FREE TIPS
Chile – Win @ 1.35
Both teams to score / YES @ 1.80
Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.90
