Match Preview: Venezuela 1-3 Argentina Prediction and Betting Tips | World Cup – Qualification

Venezuela – Argentina Prediction Prediction and Tips for today, September 3, 2021

Venezuela – Argentina Match Preview

• Venezuela’s current World Cup Qualification (WCQ) campaign doesn’t raise any hopes of erasing their unwanted record of being the only active CONMEBOL member to have never qualified for the finals. Only above rock-bottom Peru courtesy of a better goal difference, Venezuela (W1, D1, L4) will have to make do with interim manager Leonardo González for the next three matches as former manager Jose Peseiro resigned his post in mid-August after a winless Copa América.
• More positively for the hosts, all four points that they’ve taken in this WCQ campaign to date have come in their last two home matches and against top-seven sides. Even a gritty point in this match will be considered a big step towards redemption, and Venezuela’s seven-game WCQ form on home soil (W2, D4, L1) raises hopes.
• Argentina travel here as Copa América champions, their first major title in 28 years, and with their manager Lionel Scaloni boasting a 20-game unbeaten run (W12, D8 – 90min only) which is the second-longest unbeaten run for an Argentine manager. The focus will now shift to improving their WCQ form as Argentina have drawn three of their last four WCQs after starting with two wins, although it extended their unbeaten WCG run to ten games (W4, D6).
• Including their latest two WCQ draws, the last four ‘Albiceleste’ draws (90min only) have come after scoring the match opener underlining their vulnerability to late goals. The visitors 84% win-rate against Venezuela is their best against any side they have faced at least 25 times which should further inspire confidence here.
• Players to watch: Everton new boy Salomón Rondón scored Venezuela’s match winner in their lone win this WCQ campaign. He will pit his wits against Argentina’s Copa América hero Emiliano Martínez in this clash, who has kept four clean sheets in his last five starts.
• Hot stat: Argentina have been leading ‘to nil’ at HT in each of their last eight matches.