As we move into Matchday 2 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, one of the (several) storylines that has surfaced was the 5-0 drubbing Saudi Arabia suffered at the hands of Russia in the Sportsbook game of the tournament back on Thursday. It was a dreadful performance with bettors instantly fantasizing about hammering the OVER in the remaining Saudi matches and considering the total is 3 and the OVER is at +105, it certainly is good betting value.
Uruguay is heavy chalk at -650 at online shop Sportsbook while Saudi Arabia sits at +1800 and the draw is at +650. The total is at 3 with OVER at +105 and UNDER at -125. If you’re looking at spread markets, Uruguay is -2 (EVEN) with Saudi Arabia -120.
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- Saudi Arabia has lost 4 of its last 7 World Cup games by multiple goals.
- Uruguay has won back-to-back Matchday 2 games entering this game.
- Luis Suárez (51 goals) and Edinson Cavani (42) are first and second respectively in Uruguay goalscoring.
Saudi Arabia Prone to World Cup Blowouts
That 5-0 thumping from Russia was not an outlier for Saudi Arabia. In fact, four of their last seven games in the World Cup have been multiple-goal losses.
Beginning with that famous 8-0 loss to Germany in 2002 and finishing with the 5-0 loss last week, the Saudis also lost 3-0 to Ireland in 2002 and 4-0 to Ukraine in 2006, so this is nothing new.
Saudi Arabia has now played in 14 World Cup games and has managed just two wins (both in 1994) compared with two draws and 10 losses.
Uruguay Takes Time to Get Rolling
Uruguay’s 1-0 win over Egypt in their 2018 World Cup opener was a bit of an outlier. Prior to capturing those three points, the two-time World Cup Sportsbooks hadn’t won a World Cup opener since beating Israel 2-0 in 1970, so Matchday 1 has been traditionally unkind.
Matchday 2 is a bit of a different story as they have points in their last three Matchday 2 games in the group stage and have won back-to-back spots. In 2014, Uruguay beat England 2-1 behind a Luis Suárez brace and thumped South Africa 3-0 back in 2010.
Despite the late Sportsbook, Uruguay was very good against Egypt, owning 58.6 percent of the possession and outshooting Egypt 15-8. Diego Godin and José Giménez were immense in the center of the defense.
Expect more possession, more attempts and more goals against what looks to be a completely outmatched Saudi side.
Suárez and Cavani Too Much to Handle
Feared strike force Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani are the top two goalscorers in Uruguay’s celebrated history with the former notching 51 goals in 99 caps and the latter 42 in 102. Considering the trouble that the Saudi Arabia backline had with an inferior Russian attack, backing either (or both) to score anytime wouldn’t be the worst bet.
Going even one step further, online shop Sportsbook is currently offering both Suárez and Cavani at +475 to score in both halves, which wouldn’t be a bad bet either.
Uruguay will want a three-point haul in this one so goals could be coming fast and furious. Saudi Arabia was horrifically exposed against Russia, who is the lowest-ranked side at the tournament if you put any stock into FIFA rankings.
La Celeste were a popular dark-horse pick ahead of the World Cup and now sit at +3000 as of Tuesday morning. They are a savvy, experienced side from the keeper out and a strong showing here against the Group A practice side will see that price shorten even more.
