Paraguay capable of shocking Colombia

World Cup qualifier
12.30am Thursday night

There have been plenty of twists and turns during South American World Cup qualifying and another surprise result looks possible when third-placed Colombia take on seventh-placed Paraguay in Barranquilla.

Depending on other results, a victory for Colombia might be enough for them to seal a berth at Russia 2018 with a game to spare.

But the match is also of great importance for Paraguay, who need a win to keep their qualification hopes alive going into Tuesday's home match against basement boys Venezuela.

Paraguay missed a big opportunity last month, going down 2-1 at home to Uruguay, but they have made great strides since the last World Cup qualifying campaign when they finished bottom, 13 points adrift of the playoff position.

They have registered some notable victories, including away wins over Argentina (1-0) and Chile (3-0), and look overpriced to topple the Colombians, who are showing a few signs of nerves as they approach the finishing line.

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Colombia have drawn their last two matches – 0-0 away to Venezuela and 1-1 at home to already-qualified Brazil.

And they have had their problems in recent home qualifiers against Paraguay, winning one, drawing one and losing two of the last four.

Despite possessing a high-class forward line featuring Radamel Falcao, Carlos Bacca and James Rodriguez, Colombia are only the sixth-highest scorers in the section with 19 goals, just two more than Paraguay.

A lack of consistency has been Paraguay's main problem but they seem to relish the big matches and look overpriced to pick up the three points they need to stay in with a chance of qualification.

Recommendation
Paraguay
1pt 8-1 Betfair

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