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Brazil to be held to another goalless Copa America draw

| 09.07.2011

Mano Menezes is still looking for his first Copa America victory as Brazil boss after the opening Group B draw with minnows Venezuela and this wait is likely to continue as Paraguay present the next opposition.

A lack of midfield inspiration was largely accredited with the goalless draw with Venezuela, particularly as the highly-touted Paulo Henrique Ganso struggled to find his passing range and rhythm.

However, even if Ganso does improve his own personal performance, Brazil will still have a tough time beating Paraguay.

Paraguay are unbeaten in their last five international games and would almost certainly take a point against Brazil and rely on beating Venezuela in their final group game to seal a passage through to the quarter finals.

Brazil are 8/13 in the Copa America odds to achieve victory, with Paraguay 5/1 to repeat their success during qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

But with Brazil keeping four straight clean sheets and three of Paraguay’s last four games ending goalless, looking at the score markets may offer the best value.

It is a big price of 9/1 that Brazil and Paraguay draw 0-0, 8/13 that under 2.5 goals are scored and perhaps the best bet is the 11/10 that Brazil keep another clean sheet.

The other game in Group B pits Venezuela against Ecuador and both teams will know the importance of victory if they harbour hopes of reaching the quarter finals.

Venezuela will be full of confidence after drawing against Brazil and it will be a surprise if they do not name an unchanged side.

Meanwhile, they won both of their 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador, while the opposition will be without the injured Luis Antonio Valencia, who is arguably their best player.

Therefore, a Venezuela victory looks the best bet in the Copa America odds at 19/10, with Ecuador considered the marginal favourites at 7/5.

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Author

Craig Kemp

Craig has written for Ladbrokes since the 2010 World Cup, having previously gained a Media & Sports Journalism degree and contributed to publications including the Racing Post. His main areas of interest are horse racing and UFC, but he is also an avid X Factor gambler and likes nothing more than indulging in a spot of Hip Hop Karaoke.