El Salvador v Martinique

El Salvador vs Martinique Preview

El Salvador and Martinique will kick off the action in Group C on Monday evening when the two nations clash at the DRV PNK Stadium with both sides eager to make a positive start in this four-team group that also consists of the likes of Costa Rica and Panama, who are both tipped as favourites to progress from this group.

El Salvador produced a satisfying campaign in the earlier Nations League format as they managed to hold their own in League A Group D, finishing runners-up behind the group winners, USA, although in truth El Salvador finished five points adrift of their more illustrious counterparts.

A 3-1 home win against the eventually relegated Grenada proved to be decisive as El Salvador retained their top flight status in the competition but results since then have seen somewhat of a decline for Hugo Perez's side as they have failed to win any of their subsequent eight matches in all competitions.

Five defeats within this disappointing sequence should see this El Salvador outfit fully focused against Martinique.

Onto Martinique then and they had to earn their place in this season's Gold Cup via the qualifiers with important wins against St Lucia 3-1 and a 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico to once again feature in this year's edition of the competition and they'll be desperate to produce a better showing than their previous attempt back in 2021.

Martinique failed to emerge from the group stage following three defeats to Canada, USA and Haiti respectively where they also conceded a total of 12 goals in their three group matches and managed to score just three goals in reply, and they duly finished bottom of the group as a result.

However, although they have managed to qualify again, Martinique have registered just these two wins out of their last 14 matches in all competitions and this worryingly bad sequence of results include no fewer than eight defeats into the bargain, making this upcoming clash with El Salvador a potentially tricky one to navigate.

In addition, Martinique have recorded just four wins from their previous 20 matches overall in the Gold Cup whilst also slipping to 15 defeats as well, so they look to have their work cut out here.

El Salvador v Martinique Verdict

It's been almost 20 years since El Salvador last played Martinique in the Gold Cup but El Salvador ran out 1-0 winners in July 2003 and a similar scoreline could unfold here at the DRV PNK Stadium in this opening game in Group C, with El Salvador looking to keep pace with Costa Rica and Panama.

Therefore, our main bet will be El Salvador win @ 1.90

Other side bets worth considering:

El Salvador win & Under 2.5 goals @ 4.00

Correct score: El Salvador 1-0 @ 6.50