Cagey clash as Peru meet Paraguay in Copa America third place play-off

Paraguay will be confident of a third place finish in Copa America and are 9/5 to beat Peru. Despite losing 6-1 to Argentina in the semi-final, they had a gruelling match against Brazil in the last eight, when they knocked the favourites out.

Strikers Lucas Barrios and Roque Santa Cruz are both 5/1 to score first or 5/4 in the anytime market, and the former has been in prolific form over the last couple of weeks. The 30-year-old frontman is joint-second top scorer in the competition, with Chile’s Eduardo Vargas one ahead of him.

Other options for Paraguay include Edgar Benitez, who is a decent 15/8 price to score anytime, having netted the winner against Jamaica in the group stages.

Peru, meanwhile, narrowly lost 2-1 to hosts Chile in their semi-final and will be hoping their defensive stubbornness can give them an edge over Paraguay, despite defender Carlos Zambrano being suspended after being dismissed against Chile.

Paolo Guerrero, is also tied in second with Barrios in the tournament top scorer standings, with three goals, so will be hoping for bragging rights over his Paraguayan counterpart. He is 5/1 to score first and a decent 5/4 anytime price.

Guerrero is Peru’s only scorer in the tournament so far, though marking him out of the game could be dangerous for Paraguay, and may play right into Peru’s hands.

Also in attack, they have the equally dangerous Jefferson Farfan, whose pace and trickery can expose any holes, or defensive inefficiencies. He is priced well at 15/8 to score in the anytime market and he certainly has the talent to cause problems and even win the match for his country.

And then there is veteran striker Claudio Pizarro. Despite being 36, there is a reason why Pep Guardiola has kept him around at Bayern Munich and that is because he still knows where the goal is and has experience to boot. Dangerous from set pieces and a nuisance in the penalty area, he is also 15/8 anytime.