Bolivia are aiming to build on a rare win in the South American World Cup qualifiers as they host Paraguay at the Estadio Hernando Siles. Goals have been hard to come by for both nations lately and Thursday’s clash is likely to be a low scoring encounter.
Bolivia earned a rare win in the qualifiers as they edged Peru 1-0 last time out. Despite being reduced to 10 men midway through the second half, they managed to grind out the win thanks to Ramiro Vaca's effort seven minutes from time.
It has been a turbulent campaign for Bolivia, who are currently sitting second from bottom in the Group. Cesar Farias' men have claimed just two wins in the qualifiers with the victory over Peru also ending a run of three straight defeats.
Bolivia appear to be showing signs of life, particularly at home where they played out a 1-1 draw with Colombia in their previous fixture. However, they still need to improve in front of goal having failed to score in two of their last three qualifying matches.
Paraguay are coming off a defeat as they were beaten 2-0 by Chile in their last qualifying fixture. They struggled to find their rhythm in attack and failed to muster a single attempt on target throughout the encounter.
Like the Bolivians, Paraguay have also claimed just two wins in the qualifiers as they sit just three points above their hosts. However, they have been plagued by too many draws having been held six times in their 11 matches.
Eduardo Berizzo's men have also struggled for goals in recent weeks, particularly on the road and have failed to score in their last two away matches.
How the bookies view it
The bookies are split on this one with Sport Nation offering 19/10 for a Bolivia win while a victory for Paraguay is priced at 21/10 with bet365. A draw is also set at odds of 21/10 with SBK.
Head to head
Paraguay have a 7-4 advantage with five draws from 16 previous matches against Bolivia. The Paraguayans ran out 3-1 winners when both teams met during Copa America, although the reverse fixture in the qualifiers ended 2-2 last November.
Players to watch
After keeping their first clean sheet in the qualifiers, Bolivia will be targeting a similar outcome on Thursday. Adrian Jusino and Luis Haquin are likely to continue in central defence and can guide the team to another clean sheet at 7/4 with betfair.
Given their recent goalscoring problems, Paraguay will be keen to avoid defeat by tightening up at the back. They will be targeting a clean sheet at 12/5 with bet365, with Omar Alderete and Gustavo Gomez likely to start in defence.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given the attacking problems of Bolivia and Paraguay, BTTS NO could be considered at 37/40 with BetVictor. Thursday’s clash is also likely to produce under 2.5 goals at 5/7 with MansionBet.
It is also likely that neither team scores on Thursday with William Hill offering 7/1 for such an outcome while a halftime draw could also be on the cards at 21/20 with Sport Nation.
This World Cup match between Bolivia and Paraguay will be played on Oct 14, 2021 and kick off at 21:00. Check below for our tipsters best Bolivia vs Paraguay prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
