Senegal vs Colombia Free World Cup Picks and Group H Odds

by Guy Bruhn - 6/22/2018

World Cup Group H

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Samara Arena

Senegal will take on Colombia at Samara Arena in a Group H matchup on Thursday, June 28, 2018. The opening line for this World Cup matchup has Senegal at +240 and Colombia at +118. The total opened at 2.25.

Thanks to their surprise victory over Poland in their first fixture, Senegal has a real chance to get through to the round of 16 this year. In their way, though, is a very tough Colombian team that will be looking to show they are better than they have played in recent fixtures. Considering both teams' positions, fans can expect to see a very entertaining affair. Colombia are the favorites to take all three points, but Senegal's pace could cause some problems for them in this one.

Senegal

A lot of people will assume that Senegal will play a bit safer in this matchup to up their chances of getting through to the next round, but chances are they will not take that approach. They win when they're on the front foot, and they most talented players are in the attack. They'll want to get the ball to Sadio Mane early and often so he can create for both himself and his teammates. They will have some problems shutting down Colombia's top attackers, but they'll probably finish on the losing end of things if they take a more conservative approach to try to slow it down.

M'Baye Niang

After scoring the game-winning goal for Senegal in their opening fixture against Poland, Niang showed that his coach made the right decision starting him over all of the other strikers in the team. The 23-year-old loves to get out and run on the counter attack and he is an excellent finisher. He's not the best at getting into great positions in the box, though, which could hurt his chances of scoring in this game.

Khadim Ndiaye

With nearly 45 international caps on his resume now, the 33-year-old keeper shouldn't be too affected by the bright lights when facing Columbia. Ndiaye gets good reads most of the time, which should help him against this creative Columbian attack, but fans will worry that he will take unnecessary risks like he has in the past.

Colombia

Colombia has a problem of playing too slowly at times, leading to low-scoring games that they often lose. Considering how much firepower they have up front, they really should be putting more pressure on defenses. If they put their foot on the gas early against Senegal, they could run away with this one. If they pass the ball side to side too much, they might not get enough from this game to move forward to the round of 16.

Jefferson Lerma

You won't hear Lerma's name too often during Colombia's games, but he will need to play a big part if they are going to defeat Senegal in this matchup. The box-to-box midfielder will know that he doesn't have the best defense behind him, so he will need to help out quite a bit to keep Senegal's athletic forwards from doing damage in this matchup.

Juan Cuadrado

No one doubts the Juventus wingers' talent, but Cuadrado has been very inconsistent for his country over the years. He certainly has the skills to beat Senegal's defenders with his elite dribbling in this game, and Colombia will be hoping that he gives a full 90 minutes of effort to up their chances of taking the full three points.

Key Senegal Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Colombia Injuries

No key injuries to report

Who will win tonight's Senegal/Colombia World Cup game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take Colombia +118

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Senegal vs Colombia Group H World Cup Picks & Predictions 6/28/2018

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