Chile vs Paraguay
Time is of the essence for both Chile and Paraguay as far as their World Cup 2022 qualifying campaigns are concerned.
With only the top four teams in the CONMEBOL standings sure to be qualified and an inter-confederation play-off berth for the fifth seed, these two protagonists can only pray that certain things will fall into place.
It hasn’t been smooth sailing at all for both of these countries as Paraguay are placed sixth with 12 points while Chile are at eighth with only seventh.
Paraguay’s chances of making it to Qatar are significantly better compared to Chile, but neither side can afford to relax even just for one second.
These two South American hopefuls are going to give it all they got as they hope to catch the last bus, and for sure SBOTOP football fans are going to take a close look at this fixture.
Without further ado, here’s our match preview between two sides who are fighting for dear life.
Talking Points
Sanchez and Brereton need to show up for Chile
Recent form doesn’t favour La Roja given their poor World Cup 2022 results. Chile’s winless run was extended to seven fixtures across all competitions when they were beaten 2-0 by Peru last Friday.
Since they’ve slumped down further to the table, Chile’s chances of breaking their World Cup drought are looking bleak.
Martin Lasarte would hope to draw out something positive from his experienced side and he’s likely to field in the same starting XI from the last game.
Arturo Vidal is sitting this one out due to injury, so Erick Pulgar and Charles Aranguiz will take charge at the midfield once more.
Chile’s best attackers that are available are Alexis Sanchez and Ben Brereton and they must bring their A-game this Monday.
Brereton is in fine form as he has scored 10 goals in 12 appearances for the Blackburn Rovers so far this season, earning for himself the Championship Player of the Month citation for September.
Sanchez, meanwhile, is apparently unhappy at Inter Milan due to the lack of playing time and he’ll look to rebuild his confidence with the national team.
Paraguay hope to turn draws into victories
Eduardo Berizzo’s side still has an outside chance of making it to World Cup 2022 but they must be able to hold on to all three points in their next few games starting with this one.
Paraguay are coming off of a surprising draw against Argentina to which they held them scoreless for the first time since 2019 and they are optimistic that they can get a better result against Chile.
Miguel Almiron must’ve received the news about the sale of his mother club Newcastle United and he’ll aim to prove to the new owners why he should be part of their long-term plans.
He’ll play in the No. 10 role for Paraguay and he’ll be tasked to generate chances for Antonio Sanabria, who has yet to find his footing with the national team.
The 25-year-old striker has filled in well for the injured Andrea Belotti over at Torino, but he has scored just once in 21 international appearances for La Albirroja.
History
La Albirroja have had the better of La Roja in their more recent encounters as they’ve won four of their last seven meetings while scoring at least twice on six occasions.
These two sides last squared off during the group stages in the Copa America where Paraguay earned a 2-0 win courtesy of goals from Braian Samudio and Miguel Almiron.
The said win was crucial for both sides since it meant having an easier or a harder opponent in the knockout stages. During the quarter-finals, Paraguay were slated to face Peru while Chile were matched up against Brazil.
La Albirroja and La Roja pushed their respective opponents to the limit, but to no avail as they were both knocked out by a single goal.
Paraguay have secured two consecutive clean sheets against Chile. However, their head-to-heads are even with eight wins each along with two draws.
Betting Tip
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Chile vs Paraguay | 1X2 Draw @ 3.15 |
| October 11, 08:00 (GMT+8) |
The World Cup 2022 odds point to a close affair between Chile and Paraguay to which we fully agree.
Chile are priced at 2.03 to win, while Paraguay aren’t far behind at 3.65 in the 1×2 market. However, we are inclined towards recommending a draw @ 3.20.
Although, they are unlikely to make it to Qatar, we feel that Chile will try to salvage some pride and they’ll look to give their live fans something to cheer about, although they’ll find it difficult to overcome their visitors.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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