Sure Prediction For Today, Thursday 27th June 2019

Brazil booked their place in the last eight thanks to taking seven points from a possible nine in the group stage. They dipped in the middle, with their 0-0 draw with Venezuela showing some serious issues for the hosts. With Brazil still dealing from the fallout of the 2014 World Cup, they can’t afford to struggle like that at another home tournament. Can they up their game as the competition reaches the knockout stage?

Paraguay is the latest side out to frustrate Brazil after they made it out of Group B. They did lose their final game to Colombia in a 1-0 defeat, but they secured two points from their opening two games. That was just enough to take them through to the next round, but we don’t expect their group stage displays to leave Brazil panicking too much ahead of this encounter.

Brazil has had some good results this summer, while they can be especially pleased with their defensive resolve. They’re yet to concede a goal at this tournament, while they are currently on a five-game run without conceding. Those five matches have all come in June, so this is a backline which has plenty of confidence. Given that their competition in goal is between the star goalkeepers of the Premier League’s top two, it’s no surprise that Brazil is a tough nut to crack.

When Brazil click in the attack, they’re a brilliantly balanced team. They are able to keep the ball when they need, the only quality they miss is the cutting edge up top. They showed that in a 5-0 win over a hapless Peru side in the group stage, but Brazil do struggle against teams who pack the defence.

Given that Paraguay restricted Argentina and Colombia to a single goal, we have faith in their defence here. We see the outsiders keeping the score down, while we don’t expect Paraguay to be the side to break Brazil’s resolve. With that in mind, we’re backing the hosts to win with under 3.5 goals in the game. Our prediction is a comfortable win for Brazil.