Senegal vs Colombia FIFA World Cup 2018 – Lineups, Predictions & Stats Preview 28 June 2018
This is a high-pressure game for qualification to the Round of 16. If Senegal wins, they are in a good position to top the group, while a win for Columbia assures them of a chance to proceed.
Senegal Probable Lineups and Stats
For Senegal, Khadim N’Diaye will surely start in the goalpost. The back four remains intact with Youssouf Sabally of the left and Moussa Wague covering the right. The central defence will see Kalidou Koulibaly and Salif Sane match up Falcao’s pressure. The back four will need to close up, especially on the left to reduce Cuadrado’s influence.
Alliou Cisse will have to change the midfield structure to close up the gaps seen in possession if he wants to win against the Columbians. In matchday 2, the build-up to Japan’s first goal could have been prevented if there was an extra defensive midfielder on the right. He should consider 4-1-3-2 formation with Alfred N’Diaye playing behind Idrissa Gueye, as Sadio Mane run on the left wing while freshly talented Ismaila Sarr operates on the right wing. With Niang’ picking a knock in the last game, Badou N’Diaye should move upfront to help Mame Diouf to look for their 5th goal of the tournament.
Colombia Probable Lineups and Stats
Jose Pekerman’s 4-2-3-1 seems to work for him. The same formation could be applied in this decisive game. David Ospina will start in goal with Johan Mojica playing as a left back. Santiago Arias will close down the right back giving room for Davinson Sanchez and the goal hero Yerry Mina to marshal the central defence. The swapping of Sanchez to play number 4 aided Mina to run upfront, opening up the left flank. This gave in the second and third goal against Poland. Their coordination bore fruits as they managed to stop the Polish attack successfully.
Colombians play a build-up football which necessitates an organised midfield and a formative attack. This opens up game control ability. In this case, Wilmar Barros and Abel Aguilar will be trusted to organise the game as James Rodriguez, Juan Quintero and Juan Cuadrado assist the captain Radamel Falcao to look for goals. The game control and subsequent victory against Poland was a clear coordination between the defensive and offensive midfield.
Senegal v Colombia – Head to Head
These two teams have met once in May 2014 where they played to a two-all draw. However, their individual world cup campaigns show different abilities that could break this tie. This is Senegal’s second tournament besides the 2002 edition, where they defeated champions France. Their last stop was the quarterfinals.
Colombia’s best outing was the 2014 edition where they were quarterfinalists. In their previous 4 tournaments, they exited in the group stages save for the 1990 edition where they were eliminated by Cameroon at the round of 16.
Expert Tip
During the 2018 World Cup, Senegal have shown some incredible performances defeating Poland with 1:2 and making an unexpected draw against Japan, both teams ended with 1 point after an amazing four-goal draw.
Currently Senegalese face the team of Colombia, who destroyed the Polish after a classic 0:3. The coach of Colombia made some important changes to the team and that paid off against the Poles. However, Senegal is a very strong and solid team. They will give everything they have on the pitch to defeat their rival. Still, we can boldly claim that Colombia has a much classier and capable team in attack, that is why we are backing Columbia to beat their rivals of Senegal, moreover, we expect to see no more than three goals in this game.
Interesting Facts and Information
- Senegal wins 1st half in 16% of their games, Colombia in 18% of their games.
- In World Cup, Senegal has better performance than Colombia.
- Their last meeting ended with a draw. (2-2)
- Senegal scores 1 goals when playing at home and Colombia scores 1.5 goals when playing away (on average).
- When Senegal leads 1-0 at home, they win in 100% of their games.
- When Colombia leads 0-1 away, they win in 66% of their games.
- When Senegal is down 0-1 home, they win 0% of their games.
- When Colombia is down 1-0 away, they win 50% of their games.
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