2015 Gold Cup Betting – Haiti vs. Honduras

Haiti (+375) vs. Honduras (-125), Draw (+240)

Haiti came into the 2015 Gold Cup as longshots to even make the knockout stage. But the squad has a chance to qualify for the quarterfinals of the 12-team tournament with a win tonight against Honduras at Sporting Park in Kansas City (7:00 PM Eastern).

Though they are just 0-1-1 through two games, the Haitians have put two tough opponents on their heels. The Caribbean team drew against Panama (1-1) in their first game and barely lost to team USA (1-0) in the second; Haiti was unlucky not to come away from the US game with at least one point, as they looked like the better squad for much of the game.

“Haiti’s always unpredictable, man,” USA striker Jozy Altidore said after the game. “I’ve been watching them since I was young, from the games I went to until now, and you never know what you’re going to get. And a lot of that’s a good thing.”

Honduras comes into tonight’s game with an identical 0-1-1 record; they also drew against Panama (1-1) and lost to team USA (2-1), but Los Catrachos haven’t been as impressive as Haiti. They spent most of both games defending and counterattacking, whereas Haiti has been taking the game to their opponents.

Honduras manager Jorge Luis Pinto hasn’t been dissatisfied with his team’s approach, though, knowing that counterattacking gives them the best chance to compete with more skilled sides. “I want my team to play at our rhythm,” said Pinto.

That said, Honduras won’t be the less skilled squad in tonight’s game. They have taken three straight against Haiti, including two Gold Cup meetings back in 2009 and 2013. So it remains to be seen if Pinto will alter his team’s approach and try to pin the Haitians in their own end.

Betting-wise, even though the trends favor the Hondurans, Haiti is an improved team that’s playing a more aggressive style upfront; meanwhile, Honduras are trying to rebuild after a disastrous 2014 World Cup showing where they lost all three Group Stage games, getting outscored 8-1.

All in all, the outlook for tonight looks pretty even, making the draw the best value on the board.

Pick: Draw +240.

(Photo credit: Ana Nascimento/ABr [CC BY 3.0 br (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/br/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)