Tips

Both of these sides kicked off their time in Brazil in underwhelming fashion over the weekend, which has left them with a fight to make it into the second round. Peru are hopeful of building on their displays at the 2018 World Cup with success at this competition, but if they should slip up to Bolivia this week then their chances of going through are all but over. Can they defy the odds to leave Peru on the verge of the exit?

Bolivia were involved in the tournament’s opener, as they were beaten 3-0 by Brazil. It was a fourth straight loss for them, following up their poor form in the warm-up games ahead of the tournament. That comes after their difficult qualifying campaign for the World Cup, so it has hardly been a golden period for Bolivian football. They are really struggling to make an impact, having lost six successive Copa America ties.

Peru are coming off the back of a trip to the World Cup, while its not long since they recorded back to back 3rd place finishes at the Copa America. They are aiming to return to the World Cup in 2022, while they have a fine record at this tournament. They have lost just one of their last 10 matches in the Copa America and that came against Chile as they went on to win the tournament in 2015.

Pre-season expectations are a funny thing as they will be typically high for the majority of fans who believe that their side have finally got the tools to kick on in the league and achieve success. However, although expectations at both HIFK and SJK would not have been particularly high, both sides come into this Tuesday’s clash in high spirits as neither side looks in bad touch and, fortunately for us, that should result in an entertaining fixture.

For fans of HIFK, they would not have been expecting too much from the campaign as the title looked beyond reach but they were too good to be involved in a scrap at the bottom. However, in the early stages of the season they struggled to put points on the board and found themselves in a battle they wished to have no part of. Fortunately for the hosts, their form picked up and they come into this match undefeated in their previous five matches, albeit four of those five matches finishing in a draw.

Chapecoense were defeated by Góias last time out and head into this match with four losses in the last five matches, which is due to their leaky defence.
Fluminense are struggling for consistency in their performances. However, they were able to neutralise Flamengo's offensive power last time around, which could boost them into Friday's game.
This should be a hard-fought match between teams who are dealing with a lot of injury concerns. A draw is on the cards.

Peru have now drawn back to back games 0-0 at this tournament, following their draw with Venezuela at the weekend. That was their third straight clean sheet in this competition, following a 0-0 with Colombia and a 1-0 success over Brazil. That streak of low scoring games is something they can continue in this clash, especially against a Bolivia side who have failed to score in six of their last seven matches.

Peru have kept a clean sheet in three of their last five clashes, while their three World Cup matches last summer saw just four goals scored in total. We expect another low scoring clash with neither side looking great in front of goal. We expect the pair to play out another game low on excitement, with four of Peru’s last five seeing under 2.5 goals. We’re backing the same again in Tuesday’s meeting.

Mohamed Salah is Egypt’s key player, scoring 39 goals in 62 appearances for his country, and providing the team’s main source of goals. Mbwana Samatta plays his club football in Belgium and with 17 goals in 48 caps the striker is Tanzania’s danger man. We’re confident that Egypt will win to nil on Thursday and have predicted a final scoreline of 2-0. Egypt have won all of their previous games against Tanzania, have the home advantage, and are the form favourites heading into Thursday’s match.

Making the trip to the Telia 5G -areena is an SJK side who have also had a pretty mixed bag in the early stages of the season as they sit just three points from top spot. The visitors have also been improving in their recent outings and with just one defeat in their previous seven outings, it is easy to see why they are in the position they are in. However, things are very tight at the top of the Veikkausliiga and defeat this Tuesday will put a very different spin on how the table looks.

Although this clash represents a meeting between the second and third best defensive records in the division, we think the recent improvements of the hosts and the fact that the visitors have it all to play for at the top of the league means that goals will be the order of the day. When you also consider that five of the previous seven encounters between the sides have resulted in both teams scoring, then backing both teams to find the back of the net looks like the best chance of a decent return.

England head into the Under 21 European Championships aiming to go all the way, especially following the build-up of hype around English football. Their impressive displays in youth tournaments was followed up by their run in Russia last year, which has lifted expectations for the Young Lions. Meanwhile, France come into this clash with the small boost of their senior side being crowned world champions 12 months ago. Can their young talents follow that up with success here?

While these two sides are coming to the Euros packed with talented stars, they aren’t at full strength. There are a few decent names who haven’t made the trip to Italy for one reason or another. Champions League winner Trent Alexander-Arnold and teammate Joe Gomez are both eligible for England; along with Marcus Rashford, Harry Winks and Ben Chilwell. France are missing World Cup winners Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard, while they’ve left out Spurs target Tanguy Ndombele, Ousmane Dembele and Kingsley Coman.

Palmeiras are unbeaten since the start of the Brasileirão season and have won their last eight matches in all competitions. They're currently top with a two-point cushion and a game in hand.
Avaí got a valuable draw against São Paulo last weekend. However, they're still bottom of the table and are the only Brasileirão side still looking for their first win of the season.
Expect the hosts to dominate from the start as they have a far better team.

The head to head record between these two nations and their form and performances since the tail end of last year, all points towards a win and a clean sheet for Egypt on Thursday. Egypt have won all of their four previous matches against Tanzania, and the last two meetings between the pair have seen Egypt win to nil. Egypt have won four of their last six international matches, while Tanzania haven’t won any of their last ten away games. Tanzania have failed to score in three of their last five matches, which is why we’re backing a 2-0 win for Egypt on Thursday.

Similarly, Albacete come into this play-off having been one of Segunda’s best teams away from home during the regular campaign. In fact, only Granada and Malaga matched Albacete for points taken on the road, while no team could better them. Wednesday’s visitors also won more away games than any other team in the division prior to the post-season, winning ten of their 21 travelling matches. That said, they did lose seven times on the road, so they weren’t exactly infallible.

It’s probably fair to say that Mallorca’s efforts at home have been slightly more impressive than Albacete’s on the road, though the market is all too aware of that. At the prices, the bet that stands out is ‘Over 2.5 Goals’.

Vasco got their first Serie A win against Internacional on Friday and will be boosted here. They will look to escape the relegation zone before the Copa America break.
Ceará head into Thursday on a two-match winless run at home and their levels of confidence are expected to be low.
The hosts will have had an extra day's rest to prepare for this match and could take advantage to get the three points here.

It’s been an excellent campaign for Mallorca, who kept themselves in and around the play-off places for almost the entirety of the season. However, their last few efforts haven’t been great, which is why they come into the post-season games having won none of their last three. Fortunately for the hosts, much of the same can be said for Albacete, who lost each of their final two regular season matches.

Mallorca will be very happy that this first leg is being played at Iberostar Stadium, as there has been a huge contrast between results at home and away for the Balearic side. On their travels, Mallorca managed to win only four out of 21 during the regular season, accumulating a total of 20 points, though on their own patch, they emerged victorious from 15 of their 21 games, while they accumulated a pleasing total of 49 points in front of a home crowd. Only champions Osasuna claimed more points at home than Mallorca, while only Osasuna won more and lost less at home. In addition, Vicente Moreno’s men ended the season as the highest scorers on home soil with 35 goals.