Will Peru be pushed to their limits at the altitude of La Paz?

Many connoisseurs of the South American soccer scene will most likely associate the Bolivian national team with the special home ground in La Paz. Especially considering that the Estadio Hernando Siles in the Bolivian capital is located at an altitude of 3637 meters. Time and again, away teams complain about the unfamiliar conditions, which in the past have often led to a clear advantage for the home side. In the Bolivia vs Peru betting tip, this peculiarity must be taken into account

Admittedly, the Bolivians would be well advised to finally start scoring points on matchday five of the South American World Cup qualifiers. So far, “La Verde” are bottom of the CONMEBOL table with four defeats from four games. If they do not want to lose touch with the top six early on, they absolutely need a sense of achievement on Thursday evening. At best in the form of a three-pointer

From the hosts’ point of view, this does not seem to be an unrealistic undertaking, as they face Peru, their immediate neighbors in the table, who have also yet to win a single match and are still without a goal of their own in the course of qualifying. A spectacle with lots of goals on both sides can be virtually ruled out. Instead, the first goal of the match could set the tone and have a significant impact on the Bolivia vs Peru prediction

Bolivia – stats & current form

1994 was the last time the Bolivian national soccer team qualified for a World Cup. Over the past two decades, however, “La Verde” has been one of the weakest teams in South America. In the last four attempts to qualify for a major intercontinental event, the Bolivians have always finished second-last or even last in the CONMEBOL zone.

However, “Los Altiplanicos” have set their sights high for the 2026 World Cup finals, even though the 85th-ranked team in the world still lags behind almost all of their South American rivals in terms of quality. In fact, only one player in the entire squad, Roberto Fernandez, who earns his money in Russia, has a market value in the seven-figure range. The best-known player is also the most experienced. At the age of 36, Marcelo Moreno already has 106 caps to his name, once played for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga and continues to captain the team thanks to his globetrotting career

When Bolivia score, they do so at home…

Even the experienced attacker was unable to prevent his team’s false start. After four games, the Greens have yet to pick up a single point. They suffered heavy defeats against the top teams from Brazil (1:5) and Argentina (0:3) on the first two match days. Against Ecuador (1:2) and Paraguay (0:1), the Bolivians were at least competitive, but without being able to score.

As a result, a new coach was installed at the end of October. Brazilian Antonio Carlos Zago will take over as national coach in future and will be looking to catch up with the top six on his debut on Thursday evening. In our eyes, the chances are not bad at all, which can be explained by the aforementioned home advantage.

In the last World Cup qualifiers, “La Verde” scored 13 of their 15 points at home. Only a third of all goals conceded (14 out of 42) were scored in the Estadio Hernando Siles, where all four victories (4-1-4) were also achieved. Since Peru, among others, were also defeated at home, we are confident that the odds for a positive result in the fifth matchday between Bolivia and Peru will also prove to be in favor of the 85th-ranked team in the world.

Predicted Bolivia line-up:
Viscarra; Medina, Quinteros, Sagredo, Haquin, Fernandez; Villarroel, Justiniano, Bejarano; Ramallo, Moreno

Peru – Statistics & current form

The Peruvian national team has developed well over the last decade. Their consistently good work was rewarded with participation in the 2018 World Cup, although they were eliminated in the preliminary round after two defeats and a success against Australia. In 2022, “La Rojiblanca” ultimately missed out on the tournament in Qatar because they lost the intercontinental play-off against Australia.

At the next major event in 2026 in the USA, Mexico and Canada, the Peruvians, who are in a respectable 26th place in the world rankings, are determined to be there again. Although six direct tickets for the CONMEBOL teams will be awarded in future due to the increase in the number of participants from 32 to 48, qualification does not appear to be a foregone conclusion for the Whites and Reds. In any case, the results so far do not serve as an indication that the visitors will win on Thursday between Bolivia and Peru.

Hopes are pinned on former Bundesliga player Paolo Guerrero

With the exception of the goalless draw in Paraguay, they have lost all of their qualifying matches to date. Particularly worrying is the fact that they have failed to score in all four games. Coach Juan Reynoso’s team have therefore failed to score in six of their eight international matches in 2023 and have only scored a total of two goals in those eight matches.

The demonstrable lack of offense, in which Paolo Guerrero, a former Germany legionnaire at the tender age of 39, is expected to continue to pull the coals out of the fire, prompts us to consider betting on a low-scoring game. We can imagine, for example, that no goals will be scored in the first 45 minutes of this match

Peru’s expected line-up:
Gallese; Advincula, Zambrano, Abram, Trauco; Polo, Yotun, Tapia, Zanelatto; Carrillo; Guerrero

Bolivia – Peru head-to-head comparison / H2H result

Bolivia and Peru have met 19 times so far in South American World Cup qualifying. With eight wins compared to seven defeats and four draws, Peru lead the direct comparison by a whisker. However, it must be noted that six of Bolivia’s seven victories have come in front of their own fans. The Bolivians’ home record is 6-2-1, and it is also striking that in four of the last six qualifying duels, a maximum of two goals have been scored. In their last six away appearances in La Paz, the Peruvians have scored just one goal in total!

Bolivia – Peru betting tip

At the bottom of the South American World Cup qualifying table, there will be a crucial clash on Thursday evening. The two winless teams from Bolivia and Peru will face each other. According to the betting odds, the home side have the slightly better cards for their first full success. A 2.15 is currently on offer for a home win. A clear favorite role looks different, especially since “La Verde” has always been one of the weakest teams in the CONMEBOL zone in recent years.

In any case, the most important advantage relates to the home ground, which is 3600 meters above sea level and therefore has extremely thin air. A number of visiting teams have had major problems in La Paz in recent years. It is no coincidence that Bolivia won all four of their last World Cup qualifiers at home and also won six of their nine World Cup qualifying home games against Peru.

Another positive note is that the home side will be debuting a new coach in Brazilian Antonio Carlos Zago. Here, too, we expect an affirmative effect and therefore assume that the team currently bottom of the table will make their first appearance in this qualifying campaign. Between Bolivia and Peru, we are pushing the bet on the 1X in combination with the Under 2.5 and thus get an attractive top odds of 2.07, which we confidently play with six units