Colombia v Peru
Football : Copa America 2011
Saturday 16 July 2011 - Kickoff 4pm (Local Time)
This game is live on TV

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Preview

The first of the Quarter Finals in the Copa America was expected to see Argentina take part as winners of Group A, but it was Colombia who took the accolades and have thus been handed the 'easier' task of playing one of the third placed teams, in this case Peru.

Colombia have looked pretty good in the tournament so far and topped Group A with 7 points from a possible 9. They beat Costa Rica and Bolivia and drew 0-0 with Argentina in a game they could have won. With 3 clean sheets gained, and with the attacking potential they have, Colombia must feel they can take advantage of this open competition.

Peru have been solid so far in the tournament as they finished 3rd in Group C and been presented with this opportunity. They had a surprising 1-1 draw with Uruguay in their first match and effectively sealed their place in the Quarter Finals with a win over Mexico.

They then suffered a late loss against Chile to finish 3rd in the Group in an ill-tempered game where both sides were reduced to 10 men.

Colombia will look to maintain their solid defensive performances so far while the fans will now be hoping that Falcao can go through a scoring run after opening his account with 2 goals that led to the win over Bolivia in their final group game.

The team were particularly good against Argentina in their second game of the tournament and that has led some to speculate that they may be ready to win the whole thing. With Falcao being backed by the likes of Freddy Gaurin, Colombia have a lot of attacking potential to back up their strong defence.

Peru are not really one of the fancied sides of South American football, but they have had some good performances in the tournament to suggest they will not just be making up the numbers when it comes to the World Cup Qualifying campaign.

The draw with Uruguay obviously gave them confidence to move through to the next stage of the Copa America, but they will be missing Giancarlo Carmona who was sent off in the last game with Chile.

Head to Head

The two nations have met 11 times since January 2000- Colombia have won 6 of those games, Peru winning just the 1 game.

They last met in Colombia last August for an International friendly that ended 1-1.

The last competitive game they played was also in Colombia during the World Cup Qualifying campaign in 2009, and on that occasion it was Colombia who won 1-0.

3 of the last 4 clashes between the nations have ended all square.

Prediction

I imagine this to be quite a close contested game where goals could be at a premium.

However, I do feel Colombia have a significant edge with their attacks, using the pace they have to really hurt teams on the counter.

They have looked more impressive than most of the teams in the competition, especially in their performance against Argentina, and Falcao scoring 2 goals last time out could bode very well for them in the rest of this tournament.

Peru have looked well organised and disciplined in their matches so far in terms of a tactical approach, but I do believe they will give Colombia enough opportunities to win this game in the 90 minutes regulation.

I am writing this preview a couple of days early because Pinnacle have dangled a price out there that will not last and is a lot bigger than anywhere else.

I only believe Colombia will continue to be backed in as we approach the game on Saturday, and I do think they can win this one in a close contest. I would recommend taking the price now before they get far too short.

The Pick :

Colombia 1-0 Peru

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Colombia to win @ 1.84 (Pinnacle)