World Cup 2014 Qualifying: Venezuela v Argentina Odds and Betting Preview

PUERTO LA CRUZ, VENEZUELA - Argentina got their World Cup 2014 qualifying campaign off to the perfect start at Chile and they will be looking to grab their second win within a week against Venezuela when they travel to the Estadio José Antonio Anzoátegui in Puerto La Cruz.

Unsurprisingly, the bookmakers quote Argentina as the favourites to win the match, and the best price on an away victory is 1/2 with William Hill. A draw is at 10/3 with Victor Chandler and would be a minor surprise, whilst Venezuela are 7/1 with Stan James and bet365 to win on home soil against one of the favourites for 2014.

Argentina coped brilliantly with the intense pressure to beat Chile 4-1 last week, as Lionel Messi scored his first goal for his national side in months and Gonzalo Higuaín capitalised on Sergio Aguero’s absence to score a hat-trick. Chile certainly were not at full strength, but the win will have boosted confidence in the Argentina camp and so far things are going well under new coach Alejandro Sabella.

Venezuela have a young and inexperienced side who are capable of shocking some of the major South American names in qualifying, but they look up against it versus La Albiceleste having lost their opening match in Ecuador. Moreover, they lost a friendly against Argentina (0-1) last month in front of 90,000 fans and are only quoted by Boylesports and Coral in their World Cup 2014 outright winner betting markets.

Argentina are expected to prove tough to beat, as the favourite outcomes in the correct score betting are 1-0 and 2-0 wins to the away side, both at 13/2 with William Hill. 2-1 to Messi’s side is a 15/2 chance with bet365, who will refund stakes on losing correct score bets if the match finishes 0-0. A 1-1 draw is probably the best that Venezuela can hope for at 15/2 with Sky Bet, whilst 3-0 to Argentina is another possible at 10/1 with William Hill.

One of the best bets of the night looks to be Argentina to be leading at both half-time and full-time, which is priced at an attractive 23/20 with William Hill. If punters believe that Venezuela are going to be tough to break down, as they proved last month in Kolkata, they can take Draw/Argentina at 7/2 with high-street bookmaker Ladbrokes. Venezuela/Venezuela looks nigh on impossible at 14/1 with bet365.

As in every game involving Barcelona or Argentina, Lionel Messi is the favourite in the first goalscorer market, this time at 3/1 with Sporting Bet. Fans will be hoping that Messi’s goal against Chile in Buenos Aires will open the floodgates, but given his recent form for the national side, a more prudent wager could be Gonzalo Higuaín at 7/2 with the same firm. The home side’s best chance is probably through Caracas youngster Francisco Aristeguieta, who is a likely starter and will be fired up for the game at 8/1 with Sporting Bet.

Over 2.5 goals in the game looks another solid bet at 3/4 with bet365, although some punters may prefer the look of both teams to score at 10/11 with William Hill.

Argentina are 9/4 with William Hill to win both halves and 7/5 with the same firm to win the match to nil.

Finally, Gonzalo Higuaín is a 5/1 shot with bwin to score two or more goals against Venezuela.

The match kick-off at 8.20pm on Tuesday 11 October, which is 1.50am on Wednesday morning in the UK. European-based customers can watch the match live on bet365's excellent streaming service.

Venezuela v Argentina Match Odds

Venezuela v Argentina Half-time/Full-time Odds

Venezuela v Argentina Over/Under Odds

World Cup 2014 Winner Odds