Copa America: Ecuador vs Venezuela Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

Ecuador face Venezuela in their opening game of the Copa America this Saturday at Levi’s Stadium in California. An opening win is of utmost importance to set either team up for a potential group win.

• Ecuador to win @ ⅘ via SkyBet
• Only one team on the scoresheet @ 7/10 via CopyBet
• Ecuador to win 1 - 0 @ 9/2 via SkyBet

These odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.

Date: 22/06/2024

Kick-off time: 23:00 (BST)

Location: Levi’s Stadium

Group B sees Ecuador and Venezuela take on Mexico and Jamaica, with the recent form of the likes of Mexico making a top spot finish on the cards for Ecuador or Venezuela.

Ecuador automatically qualified for the Copa America as a CONMEBOL nation but they are frequent competitors in the tournament - making 30 appearances since their debut in 1939.

The Tricolors have never won the competition despite their many appearances. The best finish for Ecuador has been fourth place which they won in 1959 and 1993. The most recent appearance in the competition for Ecuador was in 2021 where they went out at the Quarter-finals, losing 3 - 0 to eventual winners Argentina.

Venezuela also had automatic qualification for the tournament due to being a CONMEBOL member nation. Since their debut in the competition in 1967, Venezuela have made 20 appearances.

The best finish Venezuela have ever won at the Copa America was a fourth place finish back in 2011. In fact, Venezuela have only made it out of the Group stage on five occasions out of their 19 appearances so far.

Ecuador and Venezuela have met 36 times in their histories, with the first meeting coming back in 1938 in the Bolivarian Games. Ecuador have the better record in the fixture with 17 wins in comparison to Venezuela’s 12 wins, the other seven games ending in a draw.

The last five games in this fixture have seen three draws and one win each for Ecuador and Venezuela, with each game being low-scoring other than the 2 - 2 draw in the 2021 Copa America.

Ecuador Team News

Felix Sanchez has the usual suspects of Internacional’s Enner Valencia, Chelsea’s Moises Caidedo and Leon’s Angel Mena in his squad. However, he is without Brighton’s Pervis Estupinan.

Venezuela Team News

Fernando Batista’s squad consists of Jhon Chancellor, Wilker Angel, Yordan Osorio, Tomas Rincon and Salomon Rondon for the Copa America.

In their last five games in all competitions, Ecuador have three wins and two losses.

In an international friendly, Ecuador hosted Guatemala. John Yeboah opened the scoring in the eighth minute and Gonzalo Plata secured the 2 - 0 win for Ecuador with his goal in the 86th minute.

Another international friendly saw Ecuador take on reigning European Champions Italy. Ecuador were behind early on as Lorenzo Pellegrini gave Italy the lead in the third minute. Nicolo Barella found the back of the net in the 94th minute to give Italy the 2 - 0 win, Ecuador managing just one shot on target with more of the possession.

Ecuador were handed another loss in an international friendly against current World Champions and Copa America holders Argentina. Angel Di Maria scored the only goal of the game in the 40th minute to give Argentina the 1 - 0 win as Ecuador had zero shots on target in five attempts.

A win finally came Ecuador’s way again against Bolivia. Valencia gave Ecuador the lead in the 18th minute and Yeboah doubled the lead before the halftime whistle. Jordy Caicedo added a penalty in the 70th minute and despite a late goal from Miguel Terceros, Ecuador held on for the 3 - 1 win.

The last time out for Ecuador was against Honduras. Jeremy Sarmiento opened the scoring for Ecuador in the eighth minute but a penalty from Bryan Rochez brough Honduras level before the halftime whistle. However, in the last minute of normal time Piero Hincapie popped up with a goal to give Ecuador the 2 - 1 win.

In their last five games in all competitions, Venezuela have three draws and two losses.

In the World Cup Qualifiers, Venezuela hosted Ecuador. Venezuela had just two shots on target in seven attempts and Ecuador had a single shot on target in eight attempts as the game finished in a 0 - 0 draw.

It was another draw for Venezuela against Peru in another World Cup Qualifier. Yoshimar Yotun opened the scoring for Peru in the 17th minute giving them the lead over Venezuela at halftime. However, Jefferson Savarino’s goal early in the second half grabbed a 1 - 1 draw for Venezuela.

An own goal from Andres Ferro in the 41st minute was the only goal of the game in a 1 - 0 win for Colombia where Venezuela had zero shots on target in three attempts with just 37% of the possession.

The trip to Miami saw Venezuela take on Italy in an international friendly. Mateo Retegui gave Italy the lead in the 40th minute but Darwin Machis equalised just before the halftime whistle. However, with just ten minutes to go, Retegui scored again to give Italy the 2 - 1 win.

The most recent outing for Venezuela was against Guatemala. The international friendly saw both side fail to find the back of the net and slump to another 0 - 0 draw.

This is likely to be a tight and cagey game with just one goal deciding the game, this goal likely coming from Mena. Ecuador 1 - 0 Venezuela.

Ecuador vs Venezuela will be shown on Premier Sports 1 in the U.K. but can also be followed online on BBC Sport or Sky Sports.

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