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Ecuador will invite Venezuela to Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado in the FIFA World Cup 2026 (CONMEBOL) qualifiers on Friday. The third-placed hosts have a five-point lead over La Vinotinto, who are in eighth place in the standings.
La Tri extended their unbeaten streak in the qualifiers to five games with a 1-0 away triumph over Colombia in November. Enner Valencia gave them an early lead in the seventh minute and Piero Hincapié was sent off in the 34th minute. They won their two games in November and had registered a 4-0 home win over Bolivia a week earlier.
The visitors are winless in their last eight games in the qualifiers and suffered a 4-2 away loss to Chile in November. Jefferson Savarino and Rubén Ramírez scored for them in the first half but Lucas Cepeda's brace helped Chile register a comeback win. They met USA in a friendly in January and fell to a 3-1 away loss.
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Ecuador vs Venezuela Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have squared off 37 times in all competitions. The hosts have the upper hand in these meetings, recording 17 wins. La Vinotinto are not far behind with 13 wins and seven games have ended in draws.
- The reverse fixture in 2023 ended in a goalless draw. They last met in the group stage of the 2024 Copa America and the visitors registered a 2-1 win.
- Venezuela are winless in their last 15 away games in the World Cup qualifiers, suffering 13 losses. They are on a three-game losing streak in away games in the qualifiers, conceding 10 goals.
- Ecuador are unbeaten in their last 12 home games in the qualifiers, keeping five consecutive clean sheets.
- The visitors have failed to score in three of their last four World Cup qualifying games against La Tricolor.
Ecuador vs Venezuela Prediction
La Tri have enjoyed a great run of form and have kept clean sheets in six of their last eight competitive games. They have won four of their last six home games in the World Cup qualifiers, scoring eight goals while conceding just once.
Leo Campana, Anthony Valencia, Jhoanner Chávez and Angelo Preciado have been left out of the squad for the two games this month. Piero Hincapié will serve a suspension here and should be back against Chile.
La Vinotinto are winless in their last eight competitive games. They have registered just one win in away games in the qualifiers since 2012, which is a cause for concern. They have lost four of their last five competitive games against the hosts.
Miguel Navarro and Rubén Ramírez picked up injuries and won't play a part in the two qualifiers this month. Yordan Osorio is also sidelined with an injury while Wilker Ángel and Jon Aramburu will serve suspensions due to the accumulation of yellow cards.
Considering the current form of the two teams, we back the hosts to record a comfortable win.
Prediction: Ecuador 2-0 Venezuela
Ecuador vs Venezuela Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Ecuador to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Under 2.5 goals
Tip 3: Both teams to score - No
Tip 4: At least a goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
