Brazil vs. Chile: Time, lineups, TV, streams, odds, prediction for Copa America quarterfinal match

The Copa America quarterfinal between Chile and Brazil pits the last two champions of the tournament. But on paper there should be no contest at the Nilton Santos Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Here’s why: Brazil has won 29 of the 39 matches played against Chile in official competitions, losing just five times to Chile and never falling to defeat at home. The goal disparity is 101-39.

With that kind of history, Chile will be needing a performance for the ages from its old guard, potentially featuring in its last run at a trophy together. Those same veteran stars helped Chile win two Copa America titles in 2015 and 2016, but they didn’t have to face Brazil to do it.

How to watch Brazil vs. Chile

The match will be broadcast in English on FS1 and in Spanish via UniMas and TUDN. Both English and Spanish networks are available to stream on fuboTV (free 7-day trial).

Brazil lineup changes

Brazil manager Tite will continue to alternate ‘keepers with Manchester City’s Ederson starting the match in place of Liverpool’s Alisson. That’s the only official lineup revelation that the coach has made in the lead-up.

Brazil left back Alex Sandro hasn’t trained in recent days, according to reports. His spot in the lineup will likely be taken by Renan Lodi, unless Lodi’s injury recovery doesn’t allow him to fill in. That scenario would require right back Danilo to move to left back with Emerson taking over for Danilo.

This should be a refreshed Brazil that faces Chile, with several starters given the day off for the Group B finale against Ecuador: Thiago Silva, Fred, Gabriel Jesus, Neymar, Casemiro, Danilo and Richarlison were all rested with only the latter three players receiving minutes off the bench.

Alexis Sanchez is back for Chile

Chile will have national team legend Alexis Sanchez back for this game. The Inter Milan player and Chile all-time leading scorer missed the group stage with a right calf strain, but he not about to miss this match.

Sanchez was on the flight to Brazil and is expected to partner at forward with Eduardo Vargas and England-born Ben Brereton, who is in his first tournament with Chile. Also, starting holding midfielder Erick Pulgar, who plays for Fiorentina in Italy, is expected to return to his place in the starting lineup after missing the group finale.

Chile’s head coach Martin Lasarte calls his old guard — Bravo, Isla, Medel, Vidal, Sanchez and Vargas are all over 30 years old — “viejo rockeros” (old rock stars) and he promises they have a lot left to give. He better hope they do because there will be plenty of running to do and ground to cover against Brazil.

Brazil vs. Chile probable lineups

Brazil (4-3-3): Ederson-GK — Danilo, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Renan Lodi — Fred, Casemiro, Everton Ribeiro — Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, Richarlison

Chile (4-3-3): Claudio Bravo-GK — Mauricio Isla, Gary Medel, Francisco Sierralta, Eugenio Mena — Charles Aránguiz, Erick Pulgar, Arturo Vidal — Eduardo Vargas, Ben Brereton, Alexis Sánchez

Brazil vs. Chile: Odds & prediction

Brazil will bring the best out of Chile in this one and it should be competitive for stretches. But it’s hard to see Brazil losing at home to this Chile team, which needs the perfect game to overcome the talent gap. It’s why La Roja is priced at +1050 to win in regulation.

The two sides haven’t faced off since 2017 and they have yet to meet in 2022 World Cup qualifying. So it’s tough to gauge how this older Chilean team matches up.

The most interesting play here might be the “over 2.5 goals” given that Chile will find it tough to keep up with the hard-charging counterattacks from the Brazilians. Chile also has the second-highest “expected goals against” metric (5.2) among quarterfinalists, while Brazil has the highest “expected goals” of any team in the tournament (9.3).

Prediction: Brazil 3, Chile 1

Odds courtesy of DraftKings

Source: Read Full Article