Bolivia and Venezuela face each other in Belo Horizonte on Saturday with both teams still in with a shot of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
A win for Bolivia could see them qualify as one of the best third place teams whereas 3 points for Venezuela would guarantee them a spot in the last 8.
Venezuela come into this match on the back of a surprise draw with Brazil. They have technology to thank as the hosts had 2 goals ruled out by VAR.
Venezuela had just 25% of the possession in the first half and 31% overall however they defended for their lives and limited Brazil to just 1 shot on target all game.
Bolivia registered consecutive defeats by losing 3-1 to Peru in their last match. Marcelo Martins gave them a shock early lead; slotting home a first half penalty to give Bolivia hope.
They failed to hold on to their advantage and conceded either side of the break before Edison Flores scored Peru’s third in injury time.
Bolivia have conceded 3 goals in both of their Copa America matches. On the other hand, Venezuela have kept 2 clean sheets but have also failed to find the net.
Head Coach Rafael Dudamel will be happy with his team’s performances so far at the tournament. They weren’t expected to beat Brazil or Peru so to come into their final group game with 2 points must be seen as a success.
The history books suggest this is generally an evenly matched tie. The two teams have meet 38 times in the past, with 15 wins for Bolivia, 11 wins for Venezuela and 12 draws overall.
Bolivia know anything other than a win will not be good enough. With no points from their first 2 matches, only a victory could see them qualify for the quarter-finals.
A draw may be enough for Venezuela, but they will want to make sure that they are guaranteed a spot in the last 8 with a win on Saturday.
Taking into account Bolivia’s poor defensive record, over 2.5 goals are likely to be scored and Venezuela should cruise to victory.