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Steffen Schmidt - January 27, 2022
Colombia vs Peru
South American World Cup Qualifications
Date: 28 January 2022, Friday
Kick-off at 21:00 UK / 22:00 CET
Venue: Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez (Barranquilla).
Stakes will be sky-high on Friday evening in Barranquilla where Colombia and Peru are set to lock horns in one of the most important matches of the entire campaign for both outfits.
The teams sit lock on points right on the brink of the top-four in the South American World Cup Qualifying zone, meaning this is a massive six-pointer with only four matches left to play.
Peru will enter the tie in higher spirits after a successful November window. They saw off Bolivia 3-0 at home and Venezuela 1-2 on the road to break into the top-five in the ladder.
However, head coach Ricardo Gareca is well aware of his men’s underdog status here against Colombia, especially since the Peruvians lost three of the last four away outings in the competition.
Peru have not scored a single goal in these three defeats. They are up against a stern defense of Colombia’s and we are not quite confident about their chances of finding the back of the net on Friday.
However, one can hardly be confident about Colombia’s attacking prowess since the hosts have not scored in five successive qualifiers.
As odd as it sounds, only one goal was seen in the last five matches Colombia played in this qualifying campaign.
Each of the last three outings the Colombians played on home soil ended in goalless draws.
Colombia have more quality in their ranks but we can hardly recognize the value in backing the home win at the 1.66 odds knowing that the hosts have failed to find the net in five successive qualifiers.
Instead, the draw looks as a much better betting option at the 3.40 odds since four of the last five games Colombia played on the home soil ended in stalemates.
