Venezuela v Colombia Betting Tips [29 March 2022]

In the final round of fixtures of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying campaign, Colombia will come into their match knowing that their Qatar 2022 hopes are partly out of their control as Los Cafeteros will need a helping hand. With the top four having already secured their passage to the World Cup, the only spot left to dispute is for fifth place who would then go on to play an intercontinental playoff to decide their fate. Peru are the team who currently find themselves in fifth position with 21 points but are trailed closely by sixth place Colombia on 20 points and seventh place Chile on 19 points. In all likelihood, Colombia has to win this match against rivals Venezuela on enemy territory and hope that Paraguay can hold off Peru when the two meet in Lima. There is a possibility that Colombia could nick the fifth spot with a draw if both Peru lose and Chile fail to win as they would hold the superior goal differential but that route certainly looks like a longshot at the moment. 

Ultimately, manager Reinaldo Rueda should have a relatively simple and direct message for his side: focus on the win and let the chips fall where they may. However, given the Colombians recent form and some encouraging home performances from their opponents, a win may not be as straightforward as it seems for the visitors. Venezuela would surely relish the opportunity to act as spoilers for a rivalry that has historically been very one sided. There are reasons for La Vinotinto to be optimistic despite sitting rock bottom of the qualifying table with only 10 points earned from 17 matches. Venezuela has suffered immensely away from home, losing all nine of their matches, but have a respectable home record of 3-1-4 with 11 goals scored and 12 conceded. With Venezuela coming into this one on a two match home winning streak and a Colombia side that has only won once away from home this qualifying campaign, a result for the hosts wouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody.