Uruguay vs Ecuador
Uruguay and Ecuador are set to meet in Montevideo in the most crucial match of this upcoming round of CONMEBOL World Cup 2022 qualifiers. Ecuador are currently in third place, just one point ahead of Uruguay in fourth.
The Uruguayans will be eyeing revenge over Ecuador, who claimed a convincing 4-2 victory over La Celeste in Quito earlier in qualifying.
And even though Uruguay are missing their star strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, the World Cup 2022 betting odds are still squarely in their favour at home.
Talking Points
De Arrascaeta stepping up in stars’ absence
Uruguay have had to play this latest round of World Cup qualifiers without their two superstar strikers, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani.
The two veterans, who have provided a bulk of the team’s goals during qualifying, were not with the team for their recent matches. Suarez is dealing with an injury, while Man United’s Cavani missed out due to the Premier League’s pressure not to release South American players to their national teams.
However, La Celeste, who have struggled to score in recent matches, fared quite well without their two stars as they drew 1-1 with Peru in Lima and beat Bolivia 4-2 at home. The Uruguayans have now gone six games without defeat and have lost just once in nine games this calendar year (three wins, five draws).
Giorgian De Arrascaeta has taken on the responsibility of creating World Cup 2022 highlights for Uruguay in Suarez and Cavani’s absence. The 27-year-old midfielder, who had scored just three times in his previous 30 caps, scored three times in two games after he grabbed the equaliser against Peru and bagged a brace against Bolivia.
De Arrascaeta will be instrumental once again for Uruguay as he will be tasked to help break down an Ecuador team that is unlikely to be too adventurous in attack away from home.
Meanwhile, coach Oscar Tabarez handed a first career cap to young striker Agustin Alvarez Martinez against Bolivia, and the 20-year-old took advantage by scoring his first-ever goal for his country.
However, it remains to be seen whether Tabarez will stick with the youngster or bring back the more experienced Maxi Gomez to face Ecuador.
Ecuador finally end winless slump
Ecuador’s quest to make it back to the World Cup after missing out in 2018 is looking good as the qualifying campaign reaches the halfway stage. La Tri are still in third place in the standings with 13 points from eight matches, four of which are wins.
They picked up a 2-0 win over Paraguay after two late goals, then got a goalless draw at home against Chile in their last two qualifiers.
Ecuador’s 2-0 win over Paraguay snapped their run of seven games without a win. They had gone winless in five games at the Copa America and had also lost their last two World Cup qualifiers.
However, they will be without midfielder Junior Sornoza, who was sent off against Chile and will be suspended for the Uruguay match.
That suspension will reduce coach Gustavo Alfaro’s already limited options to boost a struggling attack. Ecuador remain highly reliant on veterans Enner Valencia and midfielder Angel Mina. But Valencia, the all-time co-leading scorer in Ecuador’s history, has not scored for his country since November 2019.
Villarreal wing-back Pervis Estupinian supplied the assist for Felix Torres’ winning goal against Paraguay and will also be key to breaking down the tough Uruguayan defence.
History
Uruguay have historically had the upper hand in their head-to-heads against Ecuador. La Celeste have a massive 31-7 edge in terms of wins, with 11 draws.
However, Ecuador have made this matchup much more competitive in recent years. They have won three out of their last five meetings with Uruguay, although all three of those have come at home. Ecuador have yet to win a single match in Uruguay in their entire history.
Ecuador won their first meeting in World Cup 2022 qualifying in Quito back in October 2020. La Tri ran out to a 4-0 lead before Luis Suarez scored two consolation goals from the penalty spot in a 4-2 Ecuador win.
Betting Tip
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Uruguay vs Ecuador | 1X2 Draw @ 3.30 |
| September 10, 06:30 (GMT+8) |
SBOTOP odds have Uruguay installed as 1.90 favourites despite the absence of both Suarez and Cavani. Ecuador are priced at 4.10 while a draw is at 3.25.
Clearly, this is a great opportunity for La Celeste to overtake Ecuador and claim third place in the standings. But despite their recent struggles, Ecuador can still put up a tough fight.
So with Uruguay’s top strikers missing, La Tri should be able to battle their way to a hard-fought draw in Montevideo.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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