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Argentina v Ecuador

The Copa America knockout stages get underway on Friday night in Houston, Texas, after the hosts, the United States, become the first host nation ever to exit at the group stage of this competition.

As always, Andy’s Bet Club has got you covered for football betting tips as this competition hots up, with the July 15th final fast approaching.

Not only do we have Friday’s Argentina v Ecuador clash covered in this betting preview, but we also have Argentina v Ecuador bet builder tips ahead of proceedings in Texas.

The value doesn’t just come from our heavily researched tips either, with free bet offers collated here to allow you to make the most of your money this summer. We have also created a list of the best bet builder bookmakers so you know you’re backing these bets in the right places.

The ongoing European Championship are also in focus here on ABC, with Euro 2024 acca tips, Euro 2024 betting tips, and a huge range of other Euros content available right the way through until the final game.

The all-conquering Argentines meet a dangerous opponent in Ecuador in the quarter-finals of the Copa America. The Ecuadorians would have hoped for a kinder draw for the knockout round but an opening day defeat to Venezuela meant their second-place finish has now set up a quarter-final match-up against the defending champions.

Felix Sanchez, the Ecuador coach, has likened the game to another final, acknowledging Argentina’s status as the best team in the world and that Ecuador will relish their role as underdogs trying to cause an upset.

On the other side, Argentina’s assistant coach, Walter Samuel, has diplomatically praised Ecuador’s coach and their physical and technical qualities, and that it will be a challenging game ahead.

The Argentines will benefit from rotating their team in the final round of the groups, with some key players coming back into the side, refreshed and rested and bench players getting some minutes, ready to come on with some match practice.

The game is being played at the 70,000-capacity NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, and should be packed to the rafters.

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Argentina v Ecuador Best Bets

• Half Time/Full Time – Argentina/Argentina @ 2.20 on Paddy Power
• Lautaro Martinez to score anytime @ 2.63 on Paddy Power

Although Ecuador were considered one of my dark horses for the tournament, that was on the assumption that they would get a favourable draw by potentially winning their group.

Instead, they are up against a side they have rarely beaten in the past and from their performances so far, they have shown little evidence they can reverse that trend. Argentina will come into the game well rested and relaxed, with their attacking players all in fine form.

Ecuador showed their vulnerabilities against Venezuela, red card aside, and in the Jamaica game were tested for spells against a relatively weak opponent who finished bottom of their group. As such, we can see the Argentines getting an early lead here and adding to it in the second half when Ecuador have no choice but to push forward and leave themselves dangerously vulnerable on the counter-attack. Our first pick would be Argentina to win both halves, or Argentina/Argentina in the Half Time/Full Time market.

Of the likely goalscorers, we want to be on Lautaro Martinez to continue his fine form in the hunt for the Golden Boot. Despite starting just one of the Copa America games so far, he is still top of the goalscorers list for the tournament with his four goals and is likely to start this game.

He’s been consistently hitting the target, with seven shots on target across those three appearances, which totalled just 121 minutes. He’s full of confidence right now and so we are backing Lautaro Martinez to score anytime.

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📂 Argentina v Ecuador Cheat Sheet

There are so many ways to use our Cheat Sheets and we encourage you to find your own formula to pick a winning bet builder, however, if you’re unsure of how to use a Cheat Sheet, just click the link for some quick tips to help you make the most of it.

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📊 Argentina Form and Stats

There isn’t enough space in this article to reel off all of Argentina’s impressive stats. The key one is that they have lost just four times in their last 50 games. Their defensive record has been a big part of this run, with Emiliano Martinez having an extraordinary run of 31 clean sheets in 42 matches, conceding just 16 times in that span.

Although La Albiceleste haven’t been spectacular so far, they’ve been rarely troubled in the tournament so far, with three out of three clean sheets. Lautaro Martinez leads the race for the Golden Boot, with four goals so far.

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📊 Ecuador Form and Stats

Ecuador’s Copa America campaign got off to a rocky start after Enner Valencia was sent off in the first half against Venezuela. Incredibly, they still scored the first goal before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat.

Venezuela took full advantage and proceeded to top the group with 9 points, leaving the Ecuadorians to a second-place finish. Their opening-day defeat was their third in their last seven games, a concern when coming up against this Argentine side with no obvious weaknesses.

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⚔️ Argentina v Ecuador Head-to-Head

The two sides have met on 40 occasions, with the Ecuadorians victorious on just five occasions compared to Argentina’s 24 wins in this fixture. Recent history is no kinder, with Ecuador’s last win against the Argentines coming in 2015.

It has been six defeats and a solitary draw for them since then, with their last meeting a 1-0 friendly win for Argentina just before the start of the Copa America. In Copa Americas, Argentina have won nine of their last ten encounters.

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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.

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18+ please gamble responsibly.

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