Brazil and Haiti stumbled in their opening Copa America matches, dropping points to Ecuador and Peru, respectively. They will look to get their Group B campaigns back on track when they lock horns this coming Wednesday in a critical showdown at Camping World Stadium.
Who will emerge victorious in this all-important match? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this pivotal clash and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of Ecuador vs. Peru.
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Brazil’s Copa America stint is off to a disappointing start as they were held to a goalless draw by Ecuador in their opening group match on Saturday. It could have been much worse for the eight-time champions as Ecuador’s Miller Bolanos goal was wrongly disallowed 20 minutes into the second half. What made the draw so frustrating for the Selecao was that they dominated proceedings in this match. Brazil held 65 percent of the possession in the group opener but could not find a way to trouble the Ecuador defense. Brazil also outshot Ecuador, 7-4.
The onus then is on Philippe Coutinho and Jonas to provide the much-needed spark for the Brazilian attack. Coutinho created a number of chances for Brazil on the left side but was unable to deliver the perfect ball against the Ecuadorians. The same also goes for Jonas who had several quality runs on goal in the first half but was unlucky not to find the back of the net. They will need to step it up a notch with Neymar deciding to skip this historic tournament.
The Brazilians are now unbeaten in their last seven matches, with three wins and four draws. They have scored two or more goals in four of their last five outings. They are pegged at -715to score first against Haiti.
Haiti’s Copa America campaign may have started off on the wrong foot but there were still plenty of positives for the minnows to take heading into their crunch clash with Brazil this coming Wednesday. Even though they lost 1-0 to Peru on Saturday, there were moments in the match that showed that they really belong in the world stage.
The Copa first-timers didn’t look over-awed by the occasion as they kept highly-fancied Peru at bay in the opening 60 minutes. Haiti even had a grand opportunity to make history with its first ever Copa goal but Kervens Belfort missed a gilt-edged chance from just six yards out in the 94th minute.
The Haitians will take comfort in the fact that they were able to create several chances against Peru. They had five attempts against the South American side with one of those going on target. For Haiti to replicate that same performance against powerhouse Brazil, they will need goalie Johny Placide to produce another towering display. The Reims keeper made four key saves in Haiti’s opening match loss to Peru.
The Grenadiers are on a three match losing streak and have scored just one goal in their last four outings. They are pegged at +540to score first against Brazil.
