South America World Cup Tips: Peru to edge Colombia out of final spot

“Peru have been in fine form of late, securing victories over Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia and holding Ecuador to a draw.”

Peru to secure vital win

Peru v Paraguay
Wednesday, 00:30

Sitting just one point above Colombia, Peru’s fate is very much in their own hands, and a win over Paraguay will guarantee them fifth spot and a place at Qatar beckons.

Peru have been in fine form of late, securing victories over Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia and holding Ecuador to a draw. However, a narrow 1-0 defeat at Uruguay, although expected by many, means it all depends on their home tie against Paraguay to see whether they can nab that last, precious spot.

However, despite the huge significance of the match, Peru are at home and with a sold out crowd, it’ll be a huge shock to see them fail to secure the win against a side who have one just once on the road during the campaign.

In fact, Paraguay have lost four of their last five away from home, drawing once against Colombia. They’ve also only scored twice in eight matches away from home soil and with nothing to play for, it’s entirely up to Peru and if they turn up on the night.

The home side are priced rather short, as expected, but a home win combined with over 1.5 match goals presents a tidy 1.865/6

Colombia to fall short

It’s been a bitterly disappointing campaign for Colombia, and despite hammering Bolivia 3-0 last week, this was the first time the Colombians had found the net in seven World Cup qualifiers.

That’s right. Seven, long matches.

For a side boasting Liverpool’s Luis Diaz and James Rodriguez, this simply hasn’t been good enough.

However, a stalemate in Venezuela is the last thing I expect in this encounter. With so much on the line, and with the hosts having scored eleven goals in eight home matches, against the likes of Peru, Brazil and Argentina, this match is one worth staying up for.

All Colombia can do is hope that Paraguay can hold Peru, and that they can replicate a similar performance to the one they put in against Bolivia last week.

However, Venezuela may be another weak opponent, but they’ll be sure to put up more of a fight than the Bolivians.

If Colombia fail to score early and begin to chase the game, Venezuela can continue their run of scoring at home in a match they are clearly playing for pride.

It’s going to be a tough night for Colombia, and I believe Venezuela are capable of scoring within the 90 minutes. I’m back both teams to score at an enticing 2.1011/10.