Venezuela vs Canada predictions: Venezuela eye semi-final place

– Venezuela topped Group B with three wins
– Canada were second in Group A with four points
– Recommended bet: Venezuela to win

Venezuela are on the verge of clinching a place in the Copa America semi-finals for only the second time in their history, although they must get past Canada in Arlington, Texas first.

Venezuela have been knocked out this quarter-final stage in two of the last three Copa America tournaments, but this time head into the clash with Canada full of confidence after claiming three wins from three in the group stage.

The Canadians, meanwhile, progressed to the knockout stage after beating Peru and drawing with Chile and they will not make things easy for Fernando Batista’s side.

Venezuela should revert back to their deemed strongest line-up after boss Batista rotated his squad for the final group game.

Yeferson Soteldo and Jefferson Savarino are expected to be recalled, while Eduard Bello and Darwin Machis will again be tasked with providing the service for the experienced Salomon Rondon up front.

Canada are tipped to be unchanged from the side that held Chile to a goalless draw last time out.

Bayern Munich defender Alphonse Davies will start at left-back again, while Lille playmaker Jonathan David will operate in the hole behind Mallorca frontman Cyle Larin as the underdogs attempt to cause Venezuela problems.

The two countries have only faced each other twice previously, both in friendlies and both games were draws. In June 2007 they played out a 2-2 draw and in May 2010 it finished 1-1.

Venezuela’s best performance in the Copa America came in the 2011 edition, when they finished fourth.

Canada are competing in their first-ever Copa America.

Canada have failed to score in four of their last five matches.

Venezuela have only failed to find the back of the net in two of their last seven outings.

Venezuela’s impressive form so far in America means they are fancied to progress from what should be a keenly-contested last-eight tie in Texas.

They began the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Ecuador and followed up with an eye-catching 1-0 success over Mexico, before rounding off the group with a 100 per cent record thanks to a 3-0 victory over Jamaica.

Canada had a very difficult start and unsurprisingly went down to outright tournament favourites Argentina 2-0 in the first game.

However, an important 1-0 win over Peru soon followed and their place in the last eight was secured thanks to a goalless draw with Chile.

The FIFA world rankings place these two nations just six places apart with Canada in 48th and Venezuela down in 54th, and they do look two fairly evenly-matched teams.

In the build-up to the tournament, Venezuela only lost narrowly to in-form Colombia (1-0) and European giants Italy (2-1) to underline their ability to compete on this stage, while Canada managed a 0-0 draw with France in June to similarly showcase their potential.

Canada have some well-known players, including Davies and David, while Venezuela are led by experienced former West Brom and Everton forward Rondon, who has scored 41 goals for his country.

It looks set to be tight but Venezuela can maintain their winning form and book themselves a place in the semis.

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