Peru and Paraguay open the quarterfinals at Copa America, with their clash at Pedro Ludovico Stadium in Goiania. The Peruvians have been pretty good lately, posting solid results during the group stage. On the other side, Paraguay had to go through hell to secure the eliminations, but eventually, Eduardo Berizzo‘s boys made it. What is extremely interesting here is that Paraguayans didn’t win against this rival for nine years and counting. Such a negative streak puts a lot of pressure on this crew.
Preview
Peru (+210) reached second place in Group B in the last group match against Venezuela, 0-1. It was a tough and dull event, but the Peruvians did their thing, securing three points and advancing to the next stage.
After losing to Brazil in the opening event with 4-0, they would beat Colombia, 2-1, then played 2-2 against Ecuador and finally took down Venezuela.
Before Copa America, Peru was in awful shape, having just one win nine matches. To be precise, the 1-2 victory over Ecuador in the World Cup qualifiers snapped an eight-game negative streak and a five-match stretch in which the Peruvian defense allowed at least two goals.
Paraguay (+150) recorded two wins and two losses in Group A, which was far tougher than the other one. In the opening match, Berizzo’s boys played against Venezuela, winning that event 3-1. After that, they would lose to Argentina, 1-0, before posting a crucial victory for the next stage, beating Chile, 2-0. In the last match of the group stage, Paraguay suffered a loss to Uruguay, 1-0.
Berizzo created one very competitive group of guys who aren’t used to lose frequently. Paraguay posted three defeats in the previous 13 games, all of them in recent times, with four wins and six draws. We need to mention that Paraguay played a vast majority of these events on the road.
They play tough and tactical football without too much beauty in it. But so far, it gave some results. Paraguay is still in the combination for the World Cup in Qatar, and they have had some pretty impressive matches lately. Also, what needs to be mentioned is that five of Paraguay’s six last games saw just one side scoring.
Latest News
Peru’s Alexander Callens has picked up an injury against Venezuela, and he will miss the remainder of Copa America.
Newcastle star Miguel Almiron will probably skip this match because of an injury earned against Uruguay.
Head to Head Games
Peru didn’t lose to Paraguay in the last eight games, and their previous failure came all the way back in October 2012. Since then, they would record seven wins and a draw, which took place in the most recent meeting during the World Cup qualifiers, 2-2.
Prediction
From what we saw in the previous matches, Paraguay played pretty solid, but Almiron’s absence is something that will greatly affect their game. After all, he is their No.10. Even if he plays, there is a doubt about whether he can give 100%. Due to that and the tradition, we would go with a double chance, Peru or draw, with the current odds at -205.
Here are the previews of the remaining Copa America 2021 games.
Also here are the previews for the EURO 2020 quarterfinals as well
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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