WORLD CUP BETTING PICK - BOLIVIA V PARAGUAY

World Cup

2008-06-18 - Bolivia vs Paraguay

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Bolivia

Bolivia have not had a good start to their qualifying campaign and now entertain the surprising leaders of the table. They are currently the bottom team in the qualifying table with a 0-1-4 record from their first 5 games. In those games they have scored 3 goals while conceding 15. Bolivia have a history of using the fact they play at such a high altitude as an advantage when nations visit them here at La Paz but in their 2 games there so far they have failed to score and only taken the 1 point.

Bolivia began their campaign with a 5-0 trouncing at Uruguay. After holding Colombia to a 0-0 draw here, they were easily brushed aside in Argentina (3-0) and Venezuala (5-3). Last weekend, Chile came to town and took the 3 points with a 0-2 win here.

Bolivia were booed off in their last game with fans calling for manager Erwin Sanchez' head after their home defeat. The media were also very critical of the teams performance and Sanchez responded by not holding a press conference before this game as well as holding a training session behind closed doors.

Bolivia have their full squad of players to choose from for this game even though Jhasmany Campos is going to need a late fitness test.

Paraguay

As mentioned earlier, Paraguay are the surprise leader of the South American Qualifying section and should be riding on a crest of a wave after beating Brazil comfortably at the weekend. Paraguay have constructed a 4-1-0 record from their opening games and have scored 11 goals while only conceding 1. They have won 4 games in a row in the qualifying section and have picked up 4 points from their 2 away games.

Paraguay began the campaign with a 0-0 draw at Peru but followed up with home wins over Uruguay (1-0) and Ecuador (5-1). They then travelled to Chile and won convincingly 0-3 before their victory over Brazil at home last weekend (2-0).

The local media in Paraguay took great satisfaction from their win over Brazil, citing the manager's tactics as being the key to shutting down Brazil. While the media agreed that Brazil did not perform well, they also showed the strength of their backing for the Paraguay team by lavishing them with praise.

Justo Villar, the number 1 goalkeeper, is a doubt for Paraguay after picking up a knock although he has said he will be ready for this game. Currently Aldo Bobadilla is on standby to replace him. The only player definitely missing for Paraguay is Dario Veron who will be serving a suspension after being red carded against Brazil.

Head to Head

The 2 nations have met 6 times in the last 8 years, with 4 matches being competitive World Cup qualifiers. The record from those games is 2 wins for Paraguay and 1 win for Bolivia.

2 of the previous 6 games have taken place at La Paz where the first was a 0-0 draw and the other was a 2-1 win for Bolivia.

Prediction

This game has been called very close by the bookies, but I think Paraguay would have been a lot shorter if they were called Argentina or Brazil, especially with the way Paraguay have played recently.

Bolivia have struggled for goals, while Paraguay have shown their defensive capabilities and my only concern is the altitude factor only a few days of reaching the high of beating Brazil.

However, all in all, I think Paraguay can win here and strengthen their position at the top of the table as I believe a good start by them will get the Bolivian crowd against their own team and coach.

For those a little bit wary, I would recommend taking Paraguay on the Asian Handicap, but I will play them to win straight up.

BEST BETTING TIP :

Paraguay WIN

Correct score Saver 0-0