CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying Matchday 3 Odds & Picks

• Five fixtures in ten-nation South American World Cup group on Thursday and Friday
• Prolific Brazil could score freely against Venezuela while Ecuador look strong for trip to Bolivia
• See all odds and best bets for South America World Cup qualifying CONMEBOL Matchday 3

The qualification battle for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar hits Matchday 3 in South America this week.

Brazil lead the group ahead of Argentina with four direct places at the tournament available – and the fifth-placed finishers heading into a World Cup qualifying playoff against a nation from another FIFA zonal confederation.

South America CONMEBOL Matchday 3 Odds

Odds taken from Draftkings on November 11

Brazil vs Venezuela

Brazil lead the South American qualifying group after two games in which they have hit nine goals.

With a 5-0 thrashing of Bolivia and a 4-2 defeat of Peru under their belts, they could be among the goals again at home against struggling Venezuela at 7:30 pm ET on Friday.

It makes the spread offer with Draftkings of +143  for Brazil to win by three or more goals (Asian Handicap -2.5) the most attractive in a market in which it is hard to find value.

The Venezuelans have lost both their fixtures so far – conceding four without scoring.

https://twitter.com/fgfootball_/status/1325526203323781120?s=20

They slumped to a 3-0 setback in Colombia last month when they also suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at home against Paraguay.

The Brazilians were always expected to romp home untroubled in their opening game against Bolivia. But the follow-up win in Peru proved more emphatically that they are in an uncompromising mood just now.

Brazil lead the group from second-placed Argentina on goal difference.

They were twice behind in the game but after leveling it at 2-2 in the 64^th minute, they took full advantage of the fact that Peru had two players sent off – and scored twice more.

Superstar Neymar of Paris Saint-Germain has been called up even though he is nursing a hamstring injury – after hitting a hat-trick in the defeat of Peru which included two penalties.

Brazil leads the group from second-placed Argentina on goal difference. Venezuela are in ninth place in the ten-team competition.

The updated Brazil squad for November after multiple changes:

– Friday 13th vs Venezuela
– Tuesday 17th vs Uruguay pic.twitter.com/SJhUiR2aFZ

— Brasil Football 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) November 6, 2020

Brazil have won their last seven home games and in fact, have not been beaten on their own soil for 37 matches.

There was a 0-0 draw the last time Brazil met Venezuela in June last year.

Pick: Brazil +143 (Asian Handicap -2.5)

Bolivia vs Ecuador

Ecuador have an impressive defeat of Uruguay to their credit in the group and could now punish bottom team Bolivia.

The Ecuadoreans also made things tough for Argentina in their opening game with only a 13th-minute penalty goal from Lionel Messi separating the teams.

So Ecuador look good value at +101 for an away win against the Bolivians on Thursday at 3:00 pm ET.

Further to Ecuador’s credit, both the goals they conceded in the win against Uruguay came from penalties converted by superstar Luis Suarez.

https://twitter.com/ManagerTactical/status/1325280927606562816?s=20

Ecuador are now placed fifth in the group with three points but have lost seven and drawn once in their last eight World Cup qualifiers away from home.

It is more than three years since Bolivia won a competitive match.

Conversely, Ecuador have been defeated only once in their last 16 collisions with Bolivia and were 3-0 winners at home  the last time the sides met in September 2019.

In the search for value in an unpromising group, that makes the prospect of a win for Ecuador an attractive one.

Meanwhile, it is more than three years since Bolivia won a competitive match.

Despite their status as arguably the minnows of South American football, Bolivia away is deemed one of the continents toughest fixtures due to their stadium location 12,000 feet above sea level, where the rarefied air creates debilitating physiological & psychological effects. pic.twitter.com/SS2CRu2KjN

— COPA90 (@Copa90) October 13, 2020

Against that, they have faced two tough fixtures in this qualifying group so far – losing 5-0 in Brazil before a 2-1 home defeat by Argentina last month.

The 3,637-meter altitude of the Estadio Hernando Siles stadium in La Paz often helps Bolivia and they are unbeaten in five of their last six Word Cup qualifiers held there – with three wins, two draws and one defeat.

But Ecuador are unbeaten in their last five visits with three wins and two draws.

Pick: Ecuador +101

Colombia vs Uruguay

Colombia are third in the group while Uruguay are sixth and a draw looks on the cards when they meet at 3:30 pm ET on Friday.

A 3-0 defeat of Venezuela opened Colombia’s campaign followed by a 2-2 draw in Chile.

Uruguay were 2-1 winners at home against Chile before a surprise 4-2 defeat in Ecuador.

The draw is an attractive +245 with Colombia at -106 to win and Uruguay at +300.

Under coach Carlos Queiroz, Colombia have remained unbeaten in 13 of his last 16 games in charge and they have become defensively strong.

Carlos Queiroz on Oscar Tabarez:

“…a coach against whom I have a great honor to play this match, because he is one of the historical references of coaches from all over the world.” pic.twitter.com/OVwyiDo15Y

— Uruguay Football ENG (@UruguayFootENG) November 9, 2020

They are likely to benefit from the fine form of star forward James Rodriguez who has been inspired following his move to Everton in England’s Premier League.

But Uruguay will be hampered by the injury absence of influential Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde.

There was a 2-2 draw the last time these two nations met in Colombia in October 2016.

Pick: Draw +245