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Kickoff: Friday, 25 March @02:15 GMT
Venue: Estadio Nacional de Lima (Lima)
Live Stream: fuboTV (US), bet365 (non-US)
Head to head record
Peru vs Venezuela 1-0 (2015 Coppa America)
Peru vs Venezuela 0-1 (2015 International Friendly)
Venezuela vs Peru 3-2 (2014 World Cup Qualifiers)
Peru vs Venezuela 2-1 (2014 World Cup Qualifiers)
Peru vs Venezuela 4-1 (2009 Coppa America)
Peru vs Venezuela prediction
The two teams hold the lowest positions in the qualifications table. Both Peru and Venezuela need a triumph to stay in the race for one of the top-five spots in the overall standings. Peru have been displaying good performances on home soil of late, but Venezuela want their first victory in these qualifications.
Peru eye their first home triumph
Peru recorded a single win in their last four matches in the qualifications, while suffering massive defeats from Colombia (2-0), Chile (4-3) and Brazil (3-0). Los Incas need to get back to winning ways against Venezuela in order to keep their World Cup dream alive. Peru captain Claudio Pizarro stated he wants one more World Cup in his record before retiring. The veteran has been rather productive on the Bundesliga of late, being the top goal scorer of his team with 12 goals on his account. If he continues with such displays, he will certainly pose a handful to Sanvicente’s leaky defenders. Ricardo Gareca’s side have been rather successful when hosting Venezuela in the past, with seven achieved wins in their last nine matches (D1 L1). Also, la Blanquirroja proved to have a tight defense, with three clean sheets in the last four fixtures they played as hosts. If we simply rely on statistics, Estadio Nacional de Lima outfit have every right to hope for the second home triumph in the World Cup qualifiers.
Claudio Pizarro missed Werder’s clash against Bayern due to injury, but is expected to start the match against Venezuela. He came to the training camp a little later with Carlos Zambrano, who also had a problem with a muscle strain, but should be fit in time. Peru medical team confirmed Jefferson Farfan and Carlos Ascues had recovered ahead of schedule, so they could make the starting line-up. Diego Penny could be in goal in matches against Venezuela and Uruguay, while Raul Ruidiaz is also pushing for a start. Carlos Lobaton is finally fit to play, since he recovered from his lower back injury.
Bottom-draw Venezuela need a win
Noel Sanvicente is well aware his charges need a victory in order to move out of the basement in South America qualifiers. La Vinotinto recorded four consecutive defeats so far, hitting rock-bottom of the table. Their leaky defense conceded ten goals in their last three qualifying matches, and even though Venezuela have a solid attack, the forwards cannot manage to compensate for the disadvantages in the back. Los Llaneros ended their eight-game winless run by defeating Costa Rica in the friendly game more than a month ago (1-0). However, their away performance is not something to brag about, as they tasted the bitterness of defeat in their previous four away fixtures. With such a performance, Noel Sanvicente does not have much to hope for, but Venezuela’s manager stated he expect his team to arrest the negative trend as soon as possible and go for a win since any other result would mean they should soon give up the battle for a place in Russia.
Salomon Rondon and Richard Blanco are once again expected to lead the attack. Christian Santos is suspended, therefore unavailable for the forthcoming match, while former Barcelona youth player, Jeffren Suarez, is not in the squad for the forthcoming matches, as well as Vargas from AEK. Mario Rondon returns to the side.
Quick Facts
- Ricardo Gareca’s men lost only two of their last ten fixtures on home soil
- Peru boast a 7-1-1 record as hosts against Venezuela
- Four of their last six mutual matches saw more than 2.5 goals per game
- La Vinotinto lost all four matches in the qualifiers
- Los Incas saved their net in only one match so far
Peru vs Venezuela betting tip
Venezuela are not in a good place at the time being. Their below-par performances simply drive me to a conclusion that Peru are absolute favorites in the upcoming clash. Ricardo Gareca won’t leave anything to chance, so his charges will be storming to attack in order to secure the triumph as soon as possible. I firmly believe that anything but a home win would present a real miracle.
Tip: Peru to win
Odds: 1.57 (4/7) @Coral
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