Ecuador look worthy of support to collect at least two yellow cards against Mexico.

Sebastian Beccacece’s side will be really up against it here, given they are playing Mexico in their own backyard. Moreover, Ecuador come into this encounter having picked up three yellow cards to Germany’s one in their final Group E assignment.

While Ecuador received an average of 1.34 yellow cards per game during World Cup qualification, they had players sent off in two of their final three fixtures, against Peru and Argentina. 

Adding further weight to the case is the fact Mexico drew multiple bookings from two of their three group stage opponents. Notably, South Africa received two red cards at this venue during the World Cup curtain-raiser.

A minimum of three corners should be well within range for Ecuador when they go up against Mexico on Wednesday.

The South Americans forced at least three corners in each of their three group stage matches. A closer look at those figures shows La Tri earned five against the Ivory Coast, eight against Curacao, and won the corner count 3-2 against Germany in their final group stage fixture.

Ecuador averaged 3.95 corners per 90 during qualification, so here we are effectively looking for just one fewer than that. 

What’s more, Mexico lost the corner battle in two of their three group stage games, including conceding five against the Czech Republic last time out. The co-hosts were also forced to defend 3+ corners in friendlies against both Ghana and Australia in the weeks leading up to the World Cup.

I am also siding with the aforementioned Moisés Caicedo to attempt a minimum of one shot.

The Ecuador midfielder regularly pushes forward to support attacking moves, as shown across his three group stage outings, where he registered one shot in each game.

He was also reliable when it came to pulling the trigger during World Cup qualification, averaging 0.84 shots per 90 while attempting at least one shot in four of the five friendly fixtures that followed.

It is also worth noting that Caicedo registered seven shots across his final eight Premier League appearances for Chelsea last season.

While Mexico progressed to the knockout stage with three wins from three, they were outshot by both South Korea and the Czech Republic, which further strengthens the case for Caicedo to get an effort away.

Back Moises Caicedo to commit at least two fouls against Mexico. The Ecuadorian midfield enforcer committed four fouls across his three group stage appearances, including three against the Ivory Coast. 

That is nothing new. Caicedo averaged 2.06 fouls per game during World Cup qualifying and carried that trend into Ecuador's pre-tournament friendlies, committing at least two fouls in four of those five warm-up matches.

Caicedo is likely to be at the heart of a fiercely contested midfield battle against Brian Gutierrez and Erik Lira, who drew a combined four fouls across their two group stage appearances. The Mexican duo are likely to come in for plenty of close attention from Caicedo.

Look for Piero Hincapie to be fouled at least once against Mexico. 

The Ecuadorian defender featured in all three of Ecuador’s group stage matches and was drawing an average of 1.08 fouls per game.

Moreover, Hincapie was being fouled consistently ahead of the World Cup, being brought down twice in four friendly outings, while he also won free kicks in all four of his Copa America appearances a couple of years ago. 

On top of that, he was fouled a combined eight times across his final 10 Premier League appearances for Arsenal last season.

Hincapie is likely to find himself in similar areas of the pitch to Mexico duo Roberto Alvarado and Jorge Sanchez, with the former committing two fouls against South Africa, while the latter was penalised against South Korea and the Czech Republic.