Colombia vs Venezuela

Colombia will be looking to solidify their position in the Copa America 2021 Group B when they take on Venezuela at the Estádio Olímpico Pedro Ludovico.

Edwin Cardona scored the first-half winner to propel Colombia past Ecuador in their opening match of the Copa America 2021. The Colombians head into proceedings unbeaten in their last three international fixtures (W2, D1), with both of their wins in this sequence seeing them keep a clean sheet. Topically, each of Colombia’s last five triumphs at Copa America has seen them register a shutout, while they’ve let in just one goal in their five H2H encounters (W3, D2). Despite their recent upturn in form, Reinaldo Rueda’s men have struggled in front of goal, notching up over 1.5 goals in just six of their last 17 international fixtures if considered only 90 minutes of play. However, Colombia will be hopeful of improving their paltry goalscoring return as they hope to make it out of the Copa America group stage for the fifth time running.

On the other hand, with 12 positive Covid-19 cases within the squad, Venezuela didn’t stand a chance against the tournament favorites Brazil in their Copa America opener, going down 3-0. With the Venezuelan roster decimated by the coronavirus, they will need a miracle to bounce back against a side they have defeated four times in their last 11 H2H meetings (W4, D3, L4). Venezuela do not only remain one of just two South American nations yet to win Copa America, but they’ve bowed out of the group stages every time they started the tournament with a loss. Adding to a long list of issues, ‘La Vinotinto’ are winless in their last six internationals (D1, L5), failing to find the net on five occasions in the process.