Uruguay to bounce back against travel-sick Ecuador

Uruguay copped a hiding from Colombia in Barranquilla last week but the highest ranked South American side should bounce back against Ecuador in Montevideo this week.

Bookmakers have priced up Uruguay at around 1-2 to collect maximum points from its 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil home qualifier versus Ecuador and those generous odds, inflated by last week`s shock scoreline, are worth snapping up.

FIFA`s world rankings system has its critics but it has its uses and it is no accident that Uruguay occupies fifth spot in the most recently published list, putting the 1930 and 1950 FIFA World Cup winner two places above Argentina, seven positions in front of Brazil and well ahead of Ecuador.

Uruguay`s 0-4 loss in Colombia was its first defeat since May 2011 and ended its 18-match unbeaten sequence, which had comprised nine wins and nine draws mostly racked up against South American sides. That is why it is ranked so highly.

Ecuadorian football is on the up - never has Ecuador been ranked higher than its current 17th place - but there is a stark contrast between its home and away form. Ecuador has won its last eight home games, whereas it has lost four of its last six away matches, including all of them versus South American teams. The Ecuadorians do not travel well.

Uruguay really ought to get its 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil qualifying campaign back on track with a home victory over Ecuador and the odds on offer are more than adequate.

Staying in South America, Argentina should have far too much class for Peru and is worth backing to get the job done away from home at around 4-7. Lionel Messi and friends have won their last half a dozen games, including away defeats of Colombia, Germany and Switzerland in the last 12 months.

Peru is ranked outside the world`s top 50 and it has not qualified for a FIFA World Cup for 30 years. Its recent results against Argentina have been dreadful - eight losses and one draw in the nine international clashes since 2000 - and Tuesday`s match is unlikely to change the trend.

In Europe, England to beat Ukraine to nil is sure to be a popular exotic bet as the Euro 2012 combatants meet again three months after they played out a low-scoring game in Donetsk. England beat Ukraine 1-0 during Euro 2012 and a similar outcome, this time in London, appears likely.

Surprisingly, England scored five unanswered goals versus Moldova on Friday but the probability is that it will return to its low-scoring ways against stronger yet still limited opposition. Ukraine has failed to score in four of its last five matches and England has scored more than two goals in a game only three times in its last 20 outings. Therefore, the best bet is to back England to win 1-0 and 2-0, which at around 11-2 and 11-2 respectively works out at 9-4.

Supporting England in correct-score betting at around 9-4 makes more appeal than backing Belgium, the continent`s hottest hype side, at around evens to defeat Croatia.

While there is little doubt that Belgium is going to climb FIFA`s world rankings and have a real go at qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil - Marc Wilmots has a young and exciting team - Croatia is a tough nut to crack as it demonstrated against Italy and Spain during Euro 2012.

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13/09/2012     © Frixo 2024