Copa America 2011 starts tonight at 8:45pm EST (US time) / 1:45am UK time with the first game between the host Argentina and Bolivia.
Argentina
These are the players Sergio Batista has taken for the Copa America 2011. All eyes are on Argentina, and Lionel Messi and expects at least a final if not the trophy. Argentina prepared for this tournament with a few friendly games, with mixed results. Latest victory over Albania with 4:0 at home, preceded by a loss to Poland as a guest with 1:2 and a loss to Nigeria with 1:4. Whether this is a trick to fool everyone that Argentina is weak, or the squad indeed has performance problems, we are about to see.
Bolivia
Bolivia doesn’t have a lot to hope for, not only because they are playing against the host Argentina, but because of their history in Copa America tournaments. Since 1997, when Bolivia was the host, and played final against Brazil, a final lost with 1:3, the team hasn’t been able to qualify out of the groups. In fact Bolivia hasn’t won a game on Copa America since then as well. The most they have achieved in the groups in the recent years has been 2 draws and a loss. Most recent friendly games, also don’t look well two draws against Paraguay and Guatemala and 4 losses to Paraguay, Panama, Venezuela and Latvia.
Prediction
The most recent meeting between Bolivia and Argentina was in a game from the World Cup Qualifications. The game ended 6:1 in favor of Bolivia. The previous two games, where Argentina was a host ended 3:0. Argentina is the favorite for this match priced at 1.083 in bet365 (Recommended for UK and Asian players) and 1.07 at BetOnline (Recommended for US players).
Obviously the Money Line odds aren’t worth it, but consider Asian Handicap @ -2.5 for Argentina priced at 1.80 in bet365 and 1.76 in BetOnline
Due to the euphoria around Lionel Messi, the price to score at anytime is 1.28 @ bet365 which seems pretty low, but realistic as well.
My prediction would be Over 3.5 Goals. Judging on the previous Argentinian loss, and the two games before that, the fixtures between Argentina and Bolivia are always full of goals.
If you are looking for a place to watch the game checkout PaddyPower’s Live Streaming, Bet365′s Live Streaming and Unibet’s Live Streaming.
Recommended Bet:
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Over 3.5 Goals @ 1.73 | Visit Bet365 Now |
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Over 3.5 Goals @ 1.76 | Visit BetOnline Now |
