After falling short of their ultimate goal at Copa America, Peru and Colombia face off in the third-place match at the Estadio Nacional de Brasilia. Colombia are seeking revenge for their group stage defeat to Peru and with both teams likely to be fearless on Saturday, goals can be expected.
Colombia were beaten 3-2 on penalties by Argentina in their semi-final fixture. They battled to a 1-1 draw in normal time with Luiz Diaz cancelling out an early opener from the Argentines before losing in the shootout.
It was the second straight penalty shootout for the Colombians having seen off Uruguay in the quarter-finals. Los Cafeteros have been steady but unspectacular in this year’s Copa America, claiming just one regulation time win in the competition.
Reinaldo Rueda’s men have been unconvincing at the back lately with just one clean sheet in their last three matches.
Peru are playing in the third place match at the Copa America after suffering a 1-0 defeat to hosts Brazil in the semi-finals. They conceded 10 minutes before the break and despite pressing for an equaliser in the second half, failed to find a way back into the contest.
La Blanquirroja have slowly grown into the competition and are a long way away from the 4-0 defeat to Brazil in their opening fixture. Manager Ricardo Gareca will take confidence from his team’s performance in the semi-final as there were times when they looked better than the hosts.
Peru have kept just one clean sheet and conceded 11 goals in six matches in Brazil. They have shown some quality in attack, particularly with Gianluca Lapadula and Andre Carrillo who have two goals each.
How the bookies view it
Colombia are considered favourites among the bookies with bet365 offering 5/6 for a win. A victory for Peru is priced at 19/5 by SBK while a draw is set at odds of 5/2 by bet365.
Head to head
Colombia have a 13-3 advantage with eight draws from 24 previous matches against Peru. The Peruvians claimed a 2-1 victory when both teams met during the group stage of this year’s Copa America.
Players to watch
Colombia will look to striker Miguel Borja and midfielder Luis Diaz to continue their scoring form in Brazil having netted twice each. Borja is priced at 10/1 to score first by betway, who are also offering odds of 12/1 on Diaz in the same market.
Striker Gianluca Lapadula and midfielder Andre Carrillo have been the stars of the tournament for Peru with both men scoring two goals each. Paddy Power has Lapadula at odds of 7/1 to score the first goal while betfair is offering 17/2 on Carrillo in the same market.
Anything else catch the eye?
Peru and Colombia are likely to go for it on Saturday, so an open contest is predicted. Both teams could be backed to score at 19/20 with bet365, Paddy Power are offering 11/10 on over 2.5 goals while over 3.5 goals is set at odds of 14/5 by Paddy Power.
Both teams have a knack for finding the net after the break and could be backed to score in the second at 11/4 with bet365. The second half could also be tipped as the highest scoring half at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
This Copa America match between Colombia and Peru will be played on Jul 10, 2021 and kick off at 01:00. Check below for our tipsters best Colombia vs Peru prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
