Only one team made it through the group stage of Copa America Centenario without a blemish, and not surprisingly, it was the favorite to win the whole thing. Argentina looks like the most dangerous side in this field, and virtually no one believes Venezuela will provide any challenge whatsoever in the tournament's quarterfinal stage.
You'll be able to find all of the Copa America odds at BookMaker.eu for this match prior to Saturday's kickoff.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Argentina is already bordering on an odds-on favorite to win Copa America due to the fact that its road to the final is paved with Venezuela and either the United States or Ecuador. Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia are all avoided. The Argentines will be the biggest favorites to advance into the semis, as they'll likely be bordering on -300 favorites or so. They'll be giving at least a goal on the Asian Handicap, perhaps a goal and a half.
TOURNAMENT UPDATE
The goals just kept coming for Argentina in the group stage. Over a 60 minute span between the end of the Panama match and the start of the Bolivia match, the Argentines slotted home a whopping seven goals, proving just how dangerous they are. Lionel Messi only played in the second half of the last two matches as well, proving that there's more which this team has to offer.
You really wonder where all of this defense came from for Venezuela. The team only allowed one goal in the group stage, that being a blistering strike from Jesus Corona that no team would've figured out how to stop 10 minutes from time after well over 250 scoreless minutes of play.
The South American side was able to dismiss both Jamaica and Uruguay by matching 1-0 score lines, and it looked like it was heading for the same result before the Corona goal. The 1-1 result was no big deal for Venezuela. Sure, it would've much rather finished with nine points and not had to deal with Argentina in the quarterfinals, but just the fact that we're talking about a team still playing this deep into this tournament is a shock.
LIVE BETTING
Live bettors only have one thing to be concerned with in this stage, and it's clearly Messi. He's one of the most dangerous players in the world, and the fact that he's basically had an opportunity to rest over the course of the first week and a half of the tournament only makes him more dangerous against a team like Venezuela.
The Venezuelans have been great in defense, but their form in Copa America is completely against their norm. In their six matches in World Cup qualifying so far, they've allowed 17 goals and are -10 to show for their work in those six fixtures. How on earth can we expect them to slow down Messi, Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero?
QUICK PICK
You just have to go back and question how much longer Venezuela can put together good results. From June 18 last year at Copa America through June 1 this year, the last friendly match before this tournament, the team went 1-5-9, including getting blasted 4-1 by Chile, 4-2 by a bad Bolivia team, and 3-0 by Honduras.
All-time against Argentina, Venezuela is 1-0-19. That's about all we need to know to make a pick in this match. Unfortunately for the Venezuelans, Argentina will probably be in no mood to mess around, especially under the assumption that Messi is going to be able to go the full 90 for the first time in this tournament.
Copa America Odds: Argentina 4, Venezuela 1
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between Argentina and Venezuela will kick off on Saturday, June 18, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. ET. This fixture from Gillette Stadium can be seen live on FX.
