Colombia tries to squash Chile’s repeat bid
Chile showed its championship mettle in annihilating Mexico, 7-0, over the weekend. Can Juan Antonio Pizzi’s squad overcome a crucial personnel loss to clinch a spot in the 2016 Copa America final, though?
We’ll find out this evening, with La Roja set to battle Colombia in the Centenario semifinals. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives Chile odds of +135 to advance. Jose Pekman’s troops, meanwhile, represent +210 underdogs. The over/under goal total is set at two.
Despite La Roja’s rousing victory on Saturday, it’s not all roses for FIFA’s fifth-ranked team in the world. Standout midfielder Arturo Vidal will not suit up at 8 p.m. ET due to a yellow card he received. That puts even more pressure on Eduardo Vargas and Edson Puch, each of whom scored at least two goals in the quarterfinal rout, to deliver at Soldier Field.
As for Los Cafeteros, expect Pekerman to stay true to his 4-2-3-1 alignment and continue to lean on the resplendent David Ospina in net. The 27-year-old keeper boasts five saves during the tournament. Conversely, Chile’s Claudio Bravo has surrendered the occasional softie.
Still, will Colombia muster enough oomph up front to take advantage of Bravo’s shakiness? Chile’s obviously been here before and promises to utilize every bit of that experience to ward off the hard-charging Cafeteros. We’re talking about a matchup that could be up for grabs after 90 minutes of regulation time.
WEDNESDAY COPA AMERICA FREE PICK: COLOMBIA/CHILE OVER 2 GOALS
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