Argentina v Colombia betting tips: Messi and co have more in attack
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Preview and odds for the second Copa America semi-final
Brazil have claimed one place in the Copa America final and tonight the defending champions will find out who their opponents are as we look at some Argentina v Colombia betting tips.
A 1-0 victory over Peru put the hosts through to Saturday’s showpiece at the Maracana and Argentina are the favourites to join them.
First they must get past Colombia, who have another tough game on their hands after beating Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals.
Match Odds
Argentina began the tournament as the second favourites in the Copa America winner odds and a mouth-watering final against rivals Brazil still looks the most likely outcome.
Both teams won their group with 10 points and Argentina head into the second semi-final as 4/11 favourites to go through while a win in 90 minutes is available at 5/6.
A run to the semi-finals was the least that was expected of Argentina, having reached the last four in five of the last six South American tournaments.
They have gone on to reach four finals in that time but failed to win the title on each occasion, with their last Copa America success coming in 1993 when they beat Colombia on penalties in the semi-final.
Colombia are the 2/1 underdogs this time and 19/5 for victory in 90 minutes while the match is 9/4 to go to extra time and looks an interesting option for Argentina v Colombia betting tips given five of the last nine meetings have been drawn, including last month’s World Cup qualifier.
Talking Tactics
Colombia have scored two goals in each of the last two meetings with Argentina but had only managed one goal in the eight previous contests.
They had to throw caution to the wind last month when they were 2-0 down inside the first 10 minutes but managed to salvage a point with a stoppage-time equaliser.
Creativity could be an issue here in the absence of key midfielders who are either injured or, in the case of Everton’s James Rodriguez, not even in the squad.
Colombia only managed three goals during the group stage – compared to Argentina’s seven – and then shared a goalless stalemate with Uruguay before edging the shoot-out thanks to two spot-kick saves by former Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina.
Another low-scoring game looks their best chance here and under 2.5 goals is priced at 8/15 while an Argentina win to nil is 33/20.
Goalscorer Odds
Lionel Messi looks set to finish as the top scorer at the Copa America given he is the only player to have scored more than two goals so far.
He took his tally to four with the final goal in the 3-0 quarter-final win against Ecuador and the Barcelona superstar is inevitably the 3/1 favourite in the first goalscorer odds.
A similar price of 14/5 is available for him to outscore the opposition and could prove popular in Argentina v Colombia betting tips.
Alfredo Morelos, Duvan Zapata, Miguel Borja and Luis Muriel are all 7/2 to find the net for Colombia but 21/20 is available for Colombia to be blanked.
Match Info
Where: Estadio Nacional de Brasilia
When: 02:00, Wednesday 7th July
How to watch: BBC Digital
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
