Will Uruguay win the Copa America for the first time since 2011? They are emerging as a serious threat in a year which has seen Brazil and Argentina turn in some below-par performances. Given that neither of those two have won the Copa since 2007, there could be an opening for a team like Uruguay, so long as they can work their way past Peru in the quarter-finals this weekend.
Uruguay have a squad capable of winning the title, especially given that it’s one of the few chances Edison Cavani and Luis Suarez have left together. The pair are leading a team who have been rejuvenated by new, young talents coming into the side. That inspired their run to the last eight in Russia last summer, while it’s now guided La Celeste to the last eight of the Copa America. However, will they be able to secure a spot in the semi-finals?
France qualified for the last four as the best second-place team, with seven points from three matches. Despite having some quality players at their disposal, they have underwhelmed this summer. They scored twice in the last six minutes to beat England and only scored one goal over their last two matches.
Will this be the year when Ghana end their wait for glory? They haven’t won the Africa Cup of Nations since their fourth success in 1982. They’ve been incredibly successful throughout their time in this competition, but they’ve been nearly men on so many occasions. They’ve reached the semis at the last six tournaments dating back to 2008 when they were the hosts. Two final defeats, a third-place finish and three fourth-place finishes have followed. Can Ghana turn things around in 2019?
The Ghanaians head to Egypt full of hope. Their record alone makes them contenders to reach the latter stages, while they have talented players who can make the difference. The Ayew brothers remain a major influence on the side, while Thomas Partey in midfield is a highly rated box to box player. Many of their stars are hitting their prime, with Christian Atsu, the Ayews and Jonathan Mensah all hitting their late 20s. Will that blend of experience and talent take them all the way?
Meanwhile, Benin have made this tournament despite facing Algeria and T
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.
The visitors have shipped five goals in three games in this campaign, but they’ve managed to save themselves with seven goals in return. They’ll need to be in scoring form again here, judging by their defensive record on the road. Romania have seen both teams score in six of their last seven games, having kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 trips.
Malta have conceded in their last 12 home games, shipping 30 goals in that time. While the hosts should fancy their chances of scoring in this one, we are backing Romania to fire in a couple of their own. We see another high scoring clash for the visitors in this clash, so we’re backing over 2.5 goals in Romania’s visit to Malta.
The much improved Luxembourg took the lead at home to Ukraine through Turpel in the thirty-fourth minute, but Tsygankov equalised for Ukraine before the interval. The game looked as it was going to end all square heading into the final minute, until Rodrigues scored a stoppage time own goal to hand Ukraine all three points when a draw would probably have been the fairest result. Serbia’s Tadić enjoyed the best season of his career in 2018/19 and he put the visitors in front from the penalty spot in Portugal, after just seven minutes. Danilo Pereira equalised for the hosts before the break, but despite seeing more of the ball and creating the better chances in the second half the hosts were unable to carve out a winning goal and the game ended 1-1.
The head to head record between these two countries and their form and performances heading into Friday’s game, all points towards under 2.5 goals being scored and the game ending in a draw. Under 2.5 goals have been scored in three of the four previous encounters between these two countries, while under 2.5 goals have also been produced in four of Ukraine’s and four of Serbia’s last six matches. Ukraine have only lost one of their last six internationals, while Serbia head into Friday’s match unbeaten in their last six internationals. Ukraine have drawn three of their last six matches and Serbia have drawn three of their last five, which is why we’re backing a low scoring draw between the pair on Friday.
Even if Harry Kane does make a recovery in time for Madrid, the odds for a Liverpool Win still look incredibly good value for money, so we’re backing that along with a Liverpool Win and Both Teams to Score bet and a 2-1 correct score prediction.
While Mohamed Salah is the main attraction for many Liverpool fans, Sadio Mane is where the value lies in the anytime goalscorer market. The Senegalese attacker has scored 26 goals for Liverpool this season, four of which came in the Champions League. He has netted six goals in his last eight appearances in all competitions, so we’re backing him to get on the score-sheet in Madrid.
There are expected to be few changes from that side and Valencia, who ended the season strongly with 3 straight wins and 11 goals, will fancy their chances. Backing Valencia +1.0 Asian Handicap looks like a decent punt. Read our Asian Handicap Guide for more on this market.
If you fancy a goalscorer bet, consider backing Rodrigo Moreno to Score Anytime. He has epitomised Valencia’s season by starting slowly but hitting form in the second half of the campaign and he will take confidence into this having netted 3 times in his last 3 league games. He has also played a key role in this competition, with his dramatic hat-trick in the Quarter-Final rescuing Valencia from what looked like a certain exit against Getafe.
Belenenses have endured back-to-back losses with a 13-2 scoreline and will look to move on from the last couple of weeks with a win on Thursday.
Nacional were relegated last weekend after losing 4-0 to FC Porto and are expected to be low on confidence here.
This is a tough one to call given both teams' current form. However, Belenenses have a better team and they might snatch a win here.
The recent history between these two clubs and their performances in the final few weeks of the Eredivisie, suggests that we can expect to see both teams score and over 2.5 goals produced on Wednesday, with a decent chance of the game ending in a draw. Four of the last six encounters between these two clubs have seen both teams score and over 2.5 goals, and two of the last five league meetings between the pair have ended in draws. Four of Excelsior’s and four of AZ’s last six matches have seen both teams score and over 2.5 goals. Excelsior drew their last home game against Willem II, while AZ have drawn two of their last three away games, and with those results in mind we can see Wednesday’s match also ending in stalemate.
Messaoud top scores for Excelsior this season with seven goals, while teammate Ómarsson’s hat tick puts him one behind that total with six. Til leads the way in front of goal for AZ with twelve Eredivisie goals, Idrissi has eight, and Koopmeiners has chipped in with seven league goals. We’re confident that both teams will score and over 2.5 goals will be produced on Wednesday, and have predicted a final scoreline of 2-2. These two teams have a history of producing goals when they clash, and while neither side really has anything left to play for this season, we expect Excelsior to take the game seriously as they look to improve their form heading into the relegation play-offs.
Liverpool: It remains to be seen just how strong of an attack this team will have. Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino both missed the Champions League semifinal second leg against Barcelona on Tuesday. If neither plays, it's going to be quite the challenge to get a result against a formidable team like Wolves.
Wolves: This team has clinched seventh place in the league, which is no small feat especially considering this club just got promoted this season. The future is bright, though it is going to be tough to break into the top six. With the right signings and progression, it is possible though.
The Reds get a narrow victory at home and leave their title hopes with Brighton against Manchester City.
The decompression factor, on the part of Desportivo das Aves, could lead this game to an over-trend. The home team will be looking for victory without fear, and on the other side, even with less motivation, Moreirense hold great players. Thus, joining the double hypothesis for Desportivo das Aves and the over 1.5 goals, it is a value bet
Maurizio Sarri has made the top four with Chelsea, but he has never won a trophy. I was a bit disappointed with Frankfurt in the first leg, but they never played overly defensive. They had Chelsea on their heels for 30 minutes. Maybe the tension will ease off as they have nothing to lose.
This game will be tighter than most people will be hoping for. Surely, Sarri will play Eden Hazard - it isn't as though he is exhausted or has injury worries. I think he will play and make the difference here.
With the way this game is expect to go, backing the visitors to get at least five shots on target is a good way to side with at this price. With Son back and raring to go, likely leading the line with Lucas Moura, Spurs will have to go for it as they did in the second leg of the quarter-final against Man City. In that Etihad clash they had seven shots on target and, with Ajax making it difficult, the north Londoners may have a high shot count as they look to find a way through. In Ajax's home clashes against the European giants Bayern and Real Madrid, the visiting team had nine and eight shots on target respectively. Spurs, meanwhile, have averaged nearly six shots on target per game in the competition this term, so this could be worth a small play.
Senegal aren’t a side with just one trick, but they don’t have the most varied attack. Given that they meet a Kenya side who have a defensive system, we don’t expect goals when these two sides go head to head. Kenya lost 2-0 to Algeria in their opener, while they are likely to have issues going forward in this one. Kenya don’t have much in the way of attacking quality, while we see them allowing Senegal a lot of possession.
We struggle to see Kenya making a major impact going forward. Senegal kicked off this group with a 2-0 win over Tanzania – while they won to nil in five of their six qualifiers – so we expect them to be able to shut-out Kenya in this clash. We’re going for Senegal to win to nil on Monday, while we see them edging this tie 1-0.