Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia
Now I don’t mean to be disrespectful (overly), but if I was a Saudi fan I might well be finding something else to do on Wednesday afternoon.
If I couldn’t, then I’d be watching Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia from behind the couch, and probably with the sound turned down! Am I being too pessimistic? Well, the way Juan Antonio Pizzi’s men spectacularly caved in to Russia in the opening fixture tells me I’m not. And SBOBET tips are not about to advise you they will recover well enough to beat Uruguay in the Group A game at the Rostov Arena. After all, Saudi Arabia did arrive in Russia as the worst side, according to FIFA, and they haven’t disappointed yet!
Talking Points
The Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia odds point to another mauling for the Saudis, mainly because they are facing a far better side than Russia, in Oscar Tabarez’ Uruguay.
But the Charruas had to wait until the last minute of normal time to beat an Egypt team without Mo Salah; though for long periods of the game they dominated the midfield and offered plenty of goal threat against a typical Hector Cuper side, set up in two banks of four, sitting deeply and waiting for a chance to break.
Luis Suarez will be playing his 100th international game against Saudi Arabia but his 99th was largely forgettable, as the Barca man looked off the pace and missed four decent chances. His strike partner Edinson Cavani looked bang in form though, a constant menace and he came close to scoring, crashing a long range effort back off the post.
Carlos Sanchez had an impressive debut for Uruguay, crossing for Jose Gimenez to head the crucial late winner, and Tabarez’ midfield looks to have fine balance, with the youthful talent of Lucas Torreira and Rodrigo Bentacur on show. Meanwhile, Atletico’s Diego Godin was immense at the back as always.
This is Tabarez’ fourth tournament at the helm and he knows better than to allow his team to be complacent. And to be fair to the Saudis everyone was pretty much shocked by their 5-0 opening day defeat, the two late goals made it look a whole lot worse than it actually was. Nevertheless Russia is no Uruguay, and Pizzi will have to inspire his team to far greater heights than they achieved last week.
His top scorer, Mohammed Al Sahlawi, has been training with Manchester United as part of an initiative to develop Saudi’s football talent and he is the best chance of a Saudi goal, having netted 28 times in 40 appearances. And Pizzi can call on the youth and pace of winger Al-Muwallad, who has spent time on loan at Levante this year.
If one of these two can somehow breach the wall that is Godin, then all they need to hope is that their own defence can keep out Suarez and Cavani!
History
There’s a lovely symmetry to the recent form of Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. Tabarez’ men have won the last four while Pizzi’s boys have lost their last four. To be fair to the underdogs they did face Germany and Italy in that sequence, losing both by the odd goal in three, but that puts little gloss on the 5-0 stuffing they suffered at the hands of Russia and a 0-3 reversal to Peru.
But don’t give up hope. The only previous meeting between these two Group A rivals was a friendly back in 2014 which ended in a 1-1 draw. It was Luis Suarez’ first game after biting Giorgio Chiellini in the last World Cup, so now let’s hope the Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia news on match-day has all the drama it promises.
What are the odds?
Well let’s start with some ambition; a Saudi Arabia win is available at 17.00!
Now, the handicap spread suggests a two goal margin with Uruguay at 1.86 to win with a -2.00 goal handicap and Saudi Arabia is at 2.07 with that margin.
In Uruguay’s four match winning sequence they haven’t conceded, so it will be a feat indeed of Saudi Arabia can buck that trend. The underdogs to score (-0.50 goal handicap) is available at odds of 2.42, while failure to beat the Uruguay defence is 1.58.
Take your pick of the most likely score-lines…
1-0 is at 6.60, 2-0 is 5.20, 3-0 is 6.00, and 4-0 is at 9.00. All to Uruguay of course!
Surely Saudi Arabia can’t be that bad again, but if Tabarez emerges from this game with fewer than three points, it will be the shock of the tournament so far.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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