Brazil v Ecuador
Football : Copa America 2011
Wednesday 13 July 2011 - Kickoff 9:45pm (Local Time)
This game is live on TV

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Preview

The final 2, or possibly 3, Quarter Finalists of this years Copa America will be decided tonight as Group B concludes their matches. Brazil were expected to dominate this group, but they have struggled like the other big nations in the competition and now are in a position where they need to secure a positive result to move on to the next stage.

It looks very unlikely that Brazil will fail to qualify from the group after picking up 2 points in their first 2 games. That means they need to gain at least 1 more point if they are to go through as one of the 'best third placed' sides.

However, the top of the group is still up for grabs if they can win this game by outscoring Paraguay who play Venezuela in the earlier game. They would top the group either by outscoring Paraguay with both winning their games, or winning and hoping the earlier game is a draw.

If Venezuela win the match, Brazil would need to avoid defeat in this game to go through in 2nd place and avoid playing one of the other group winners in the next stage.

Ecuador have not scored a goal in the competition and need to win if they are to go through to the next round. They earned a credible 0-0 draw with Paraguay in their first match, but a 1-0 loss to Venezuela looks to have cost them a chance of progressing.

They will also be missing Antonio Valencia for this game as the Manchester United winger has failed to recover from an injury.

Brazil have had the same problems that have faced Argentina and Uruguay, but again I have to wonder if it is the nature of the tournament that has led to a subdued start from the favourites. While the other 2 nations finished with wins, Brazil would like to follow suit to ensure they avoid having a tough Quarter Final.

Head to Head

These two nations last met in 2009 during the World Cup Qualifiers in a match in Ecuador that finished 1-1.

They have met 8 times since the year 2000- Brazil have won 5 of those games and Ecuador have won 2.

Brazil also beat Ecuador 1-0 in the last meeting in the Copa America in 2007.

Prediction

Brazil are rightly the short priced favourites to win this game and progress through to the Quarter Finals and knock Ecuador out of the tournament.

The latter are also missing one of their best players in the form of Antonio Valencia and they have really struggled in attacking situations during this tournament.

Ecuador do need to win this game to go through, but I have been disappointed with their attacking efforts and so I feel the best way to back Brazil in this game is to back them to 'win to nil'.

Brazil had kept clean sheets in 4 consecutive games before Paraguay managed 2 goals in their last match, but I believe Paraguay are a team that gives Brazil a lot of problems and I think they can get back to the defensive discipline that has served them so well in recent games.

The Pick :

Brazil 2-0 Ecuador

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Brazil to win to nil @ 1.91