2022 World Cup Qualification. South America
Round 6. Round Robin
Stadium: Defensores del Chaco (Asuncion)
Colombia has beaten Paraguay in six of their last seven head-to-head encounters. Will the White and Red be able to break this winless streak? Our prediction: the Coffee Growers will be closer to success again!
Paraguay form
The Paraguay national football team last qualified for the World Cup in 2010, when they sensationally reached the quarterfinals. After that, they missed the World Cup in 2014 and 2018. Now that they are placed sixth in the standings, the team risks not getting to the 2022 World Cup, as only the four strongest national teams will receive a direct ticket to Qatar. In the seven matches, the White and Red only managed to gain one victory; four times they had to make do with a draw, and twice more they lost, including the last round match against Ecuador (0-2).
Colombia form
The Colombia national football team is one of the strongest teams on the South American continent in terms of players and they proved it by getting into the World Cup twice. They even managed to progress from the group stage both times. Now, the Coffee Growers are placed on the borderline fifth line in the standings ( one can not go directly to Qatar from that position), but there is a chance to go to the finals of the World Cup through the tie. In the seven matches, Reynaldo Rueda’s team has won two times, lost twice more, and shared points on three occasions, including a hard-fought 1-1 loss to Bolivia in the last round.
Head-to-head encounters
The two teams have had 31 matches. The Paraguayans have won 10 of them, the Colombians have proved to be stronger in 17 games, and 4 more games have ended in a draw. The goal difference is 42-30 in favor of the Coffee Growers as well. The last time the rivals met was in 2019 when players of the Colombian national team scored 1 goal that guaranteed them victory at the Copa América.
Expert Betting Tips
The Colombia national football team is an unfavorable opponent for the Paraguayans. In their last 7 encounters, the White and Red suffered six defeats, which is now a trend rather than an accident. Now, the two teams are placed on the neighboring lines in the qualification standings, separated by only two points. However, the Coffee Growers are markedly stronger in the selection of players, and they have been much more confident during their last match. That's why you should bet on Colombia's victory for 2.36.
The Paraguayan and Colombian teams are completely different in style. While the White and Red tries are careful and defensive, the Coffee Growers are always wide open, running at their enemy and completely forgetting the defense. As a result, they have scored a total of 26 goals (3.71 average per game) in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. In a battle against such a dangerous and direct opponent even Paraguayans will try to be riskier in the attack. Besides, they are playing at home, so the best option is to choose Total Over 2.5 for 2.52.
The Colombian national team is famous for the offense strategy, but many of the attacking players are out of the September games for various reasons, so Roger Martínez has to carry the burden for all of them. Forward of the Mexican América has already scored two goals in seven games this season, which proves his good form, and in the last round match with Bolivia, it was his goal that allowed the team to snatch a draw in such a difficult game. That's why you should consider betting on Roger Martínez to score for 3.80.
Other predictions
