Argentina vs Paraguay
Argentina are ready to resume their quest to qualify for World Cup 2022 in Qatar. The Albiceleste have made a fine start to their qualifying campaign with two wins out of two last month. However, they weren’t exactly all that convincing as they beat both Ecuador and Bolivia by a single goal.
The Argentines will now face a tougher test as they host a Paraguay side that has also begun qualifying well with four points in their first two games.
The World Cup 2022 betting odds will be heavily in the home side’s favour, but the Paraguayans are known to put up a fight and will not make things easy for Lionel Messi and co.
Talking Points
Argentina’s attack still formidable despite absentees
Argentina are right up there with Brazil atop the CONMEBOL qualifying table after winning each of their first two games.
But while Brazil poured in the goals in wins over Bolivia and Peru, Argentina have squeaked by with narrow one-goal victories over Ecuador and Bolivia.
Lionel Scaloni is clearly not short of attacking weapons, with Lionel Messi surrounded by the likes of Lucas Ocampos, Lucas Alario, Papu Gomez, and Lautaro Martinez, who is getting back to goalscoring form. However, the Albiceleste have continued to struggle to play as a cohesive unit.
It’s a testament to Argentina’s depth of attacking talent that they shouldn’t miss either Juventus’ Paulo Dybala and Man City’s Sergio Aguero — who are both out of their upcoming internationals due to injuries — all that much.
Despite losing those two world-class stars, Scaloni can simply call on another star in Angel Di Maria. The 32-year-old is back in the fold for Argentina for the first time since the 2019 Copa America.
Di Maria has a lot of experience playing alongside Messi, which should be a great benefit to Argentina’s sometimes sputtering attack.
Defensively, though, they still have some question marks. Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez has received a well-earned call-up, which should help solidify that position. But the central defensive partnership of Nicolas Otamendi and Lisandro Martinez is far from rock-solid.
Paraguay off to promising start in qualifying
Paraguay’s early World Cup 2022 results in qualifying have looked promising. After a hard-fought 2-2 draw at home to Peru, they picked up a big away victory at Venezuela thanks to a late goal from Gaston Gimenez.
Paraguay are clearly not in the same league as Argentina in terms of the quality in their squad. Aside from a couple of Premier League stars in Newcastle playmaker Miguel Almiron and West Ham defender Fabian Balbuena, they have no other recognisable names on the team.
Goalscoring is also a major issue. No one on the current squad has scored more than four career international goals. Twins Angel and Oscar Romero each have four goals, as does 30-year-old Dario Lezcano. Angel Romero scored both goals in their 2-2 draw against Peru.
But despite these notable shortcomings, coach Eduardo Berizzo has done a fine job getting the most out of his side and keeping them competitive.
They make up for the lack of cutting edge in attack by defending hard and scrapping for any goal they can get. That strategy proved successful in last year’s Copa America as they drew against Argentina and Brazil, who needed penalties to get past them in the quarter-finals.
History
Unsurprisingly, Argentina have historically dominated Paraguay. La Albiceleste have won 58 matches to Paraguay’s 16, with 33 draws.
However, La Albirroja have been a bit more competitive in recent meetings. They’re undefeated in their last three matches against Argentina (one win, two draws) and have conceded just one goal during that time.
Betting Tip
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Argentina vs Paraguay | Under 3.00 @ 2.02 |
| November 13, 08:00 (GMT+8) |
The SBOTOP odds have Argentina as massive 1.34 favourites to pick up their third win in a row, with Paraguay priced at 7.80 to pull off the significant upset. A draw is 4.80.
There’s not much value to be had on an Argentina win, so let’s turn our attention to the over under instead. The under looks like the better play given Argentina’s recent struggles to score loads of goals despite their immense attacking talent.
Meanwhile, Paraguay are unlikely to score themselves and will at the very least make things difficult for the home side to break them down. So expect a closely contested and ultimately low-scoring affair between these two at La Bombonera.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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The post World Cup 2022: Paraguay Aiming to End Argentina’s Perfect Start appeared first on SBOTOP.