WC Qualifications South America, 27-28. January

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Paraguay - Uruguay

TIP: Draw no bet - Uruguay @ 1,72

 

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Chile vs Argentina Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Chile:
Bravo; Isla, Medel, Maripan, Mena; Baeza, Aranguiz, Pulgar; Vargas, Brereton Diaz, Alexis Sanchez

Argentina:
E. Martinez; Molina, Pezzella, Otamendi, Acuna; Lo Celso, Parades, De Paul; Alvarez, Di Maria, Lautaro Martinez

Chile welcome Argentina to at the Zorros del Desierto stadium in a derby match of the 15th round of World Cup 2022 CONMEBOL qualifications. The hosts are desperate for victory to climb back into the top four. Chile have only 16 points from 14 matches and the situation is very complicated. Coach Martin Lasarte, who replaced Reinaldo Rueda earlier, is feeling a big pressure, as well as the players. The actual form isn't bad, they have won three of the last four matches in the qualifications, but lost when nobody expected. A lack of concentration have resulted with a painful home defeat to Ecuador in November. The Chileans lost 2:0 and made the things more complicated. Chile are now 6th in the current standings, one point behind Peru and Colombia. As You probably know, the fourth place guarantees participation at the World Cup in Qatar, while the fifth place means an inter-confederation playoff. Chile missed out on qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia and another failure will be like a catastrophe. But there are some additional problems ahead of this match. Key midfielder Arturo Vidal is suspended and his absence is a huge handicap. Most probably Laserte will start the match with Charles Aranguiz, Erick Pulgar and Claudio Baeza in the midfield. Experienced Alexis Sanchez should lead the line.

Argentina are sitting on second place in the standings with 29 points, six less than first-placed Brazil. Both South America Giants have secured tickets for Qatar. The Albiceleste are in solid form, they have three victories and a draw with Brazil on the last four matches. Argentina managed to beat Uruguay home and away, as well as Peru. Best of all, Martinez kept the net untouched on the last six matches.However, Argentina are not convincing in attack, finding the net just twice on the last three occasions. For this match coach Lionel Scaloni has additional issues as he will have to cope without key star Lionel Messi. The Argentine Football Assosiation came to an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain for Messi to remain in France, as he has only just recovered from a bout of Coronavirus. The 34-year-old captain was omitted from Argentina’s 27-man squad after not playing for PSG since December 22 against Lorient in French Ligue 1. Messi spent the festive period in Argentina before testing positive for Coronavirus and trained separately from his teammates on his return to Paris. His absence is a huge handicap, Messi is "Alpha and Omega" in the team. But that's not all. Cristian Romero from Tottenham and Joaquin Correa from Inter are also unavailable with hamstring injuries. With both Messi and Correa absent from the squad, all eyes will be focused on Lautaro Martinez.

Chile vs Argentina Prediction:

There were no winners on the last three mutual games between Chile and Argentina. It is clear this will be an interesting clash. Argentina are unbeaten in their last 14 matches across all competitions, recording eight victories and six draws in the process. But Chile have the home advantage and they desperately need three points from this match. The motivation is completely on their side. Having on mind Argentina will be without Messi, I will give advantage to Chile.

Chile vs Argentina Pick: Chile to win @ 2.70 with BetVictor