Venezuela v Bolivia Betting Tips [28 January 2022]

Bottom of the table Venezuela hosts eighth place Bolivia in this CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying match. Unfortunately for the home side, they have already been eliminated from contention. New manager Jose Pekerman, also the former manager of the Colombian national team, will be looking to build up some positive momentum with his side. Venezuela are tenth out of ten with just seven points and also have the group’s worst goal differential at -16. Their opponents today still have a very faint chance at qualification as Bolivia currently has 15 points, trailing fifth place Peru by just two points. The top four in this table achieve automatic promotion to the World Cup in Qatar while fifth place enters into an intercontinental playoff. With only a few matches remaining and fourth position to ninth position extremely tight, there is sure to be some drama to come. 

Pekerman should instill into his Venezuela side the idea that they are building for the future. There will be no pressure on La Vinotinto here which should lead to a more attacking mentality from the players. Things have certainly been bad for the Venezuelans, but a recent 2-1 home victory to Ecuador in October is a good achievement for the team and should give them some confidence. Bolivia, excellent at home in the high altitude of La Paz, is a completely different story when playing away. La Verde have an away record of zero wins, two draws and five defeats while conceding 21 goals - an average of three per match. This is a great opportunity for Venezuela to notch another win to their home record of 2-1-4 and they come into this match as the favorites to do so. We could see goals in this one as well as both teams trend towards the over with their respective home and away form.

We’re going with over 2.5 goals as our bet in this one. Although South American matches are usually tight, contentious affairs, this is one where both teams aren’t playing with a ton of pressure. We should see an attacking match here and given Bolivia’s terrible away record, there is a chance that Venezuela could single handedly cover the 2.5 total. Don’t be surprised if the Bolivians are able to find the net here though as the hosts have struggled defensively. 2-1 to the Venezuelans is our prediction for the scoreline.