Costa Rica v Martinique

Costa Rica vs Martinique Preview

In Group C, Costa Rica know they must grab all three points in their final game of the group stage on Tuesday night when they take on second-placed Martinique at the Red Bull Arena while also hoping Panama beat El Salvador to have any chance of progressing into the knockout round of this competition.

A 2-1 defeat to Panama in Costa Rica's opening game saw them off to a poor start and although they got themselves off the mark with a 0-0 draw with El Salvador, Costa Rica now must win on Tuesday night which looks a pretty tall order when looking at their recent results overall.

Costa Rica are without a win in their last five matches in all competitions which includes losing no fewer than four of these games, succumbing to the likes of Panama (twice), Guatemala and Ecuador, while the bigger picture shows Costa Rica have managed to pick up just two wins in their last nine matches overall.

Although Costa Rica have lost six of these last nine games though, they do at least hold a good record against Martinique, winning each of the previous four meetings against their opponents.

Martinique by contrast must fancy their chances now of progressing into the next phase of this season's Gold Cup having won once and lost once, with their highlight so far in the group stage being a 2-1 win against El Salvador and they know that a draw may well be enough to see them over the line.

Martinique had to endure two preliminary qualifying rounds in order to reach the group stage of the Gold Cup and they duly beat St Lucia 3-1 in the 1st preliminary qualifying round and then Puerto Rico 2-0 in the 2nd preliminary qualifying round to make it into the Gold Cup proper.

The dream could continue if they manage to avoid defeat to Costa Rica but recent results suggest this upcoming clash with Costa Rica could be a tough one, especially as Martinique have registered just three wins out of their last 16 matches in all competitions.

In addition, within the nine defeats in these last 16 matches Martinique have lost twice to Costa Rica which does not bode well for them for this final game in Group C.

Costa Rica v Martinique Verdict

As mentioned earlier, Costa Rica have held the upper hand over Martinique in previous exchanges, winning all four of their previous tussles with two of these wins resulting in Under 2.5 goals.

Although the hit-rate of Under 2.5 goals in past meetings stands at 50%, we expect this upcoming clash at the Red Bull Arena to be a low-scoring affair as this fixture holds even greater importance on Tuesday night.

Therefore, our main bet will be Under 2.5 goals @ 1.90

Other side bets worth considering:

Costa Rica win & Under 2.5 goals @ 3.60

Correct score: Costa Rica 1-0 @ 6.50