Prediction: Argentina vs Colombia

Verdict: Total goals over 2.5

Best odds: 29/20

Bookmaker: Unibet

The Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Cordoba, Argentina, is set to be the venue where Argentina play host to Colombia on Tuesday evening in the CONMEBOL qualifying process for the upcoming World Cup. It will be the 15th match of the campaign for the home side, and 16th for the visitors.

Argentina

Sitting second with 32 points from 14 matches to their name, Argentina are completely comfortable when it comes to having a place in Qatar; nothing more than one would have expected from the reigning Copa America champions. The same goes, of course, for table toppers Brazil with 36. Nonetheless, there is great rivalry between the Gauchos and the Selecao, which means finishing top of the pack will still be seen as a priority by Lionel Scaloni and his men with little time left to bridge the four-point gap between the two teams.

Argentina and Brazil have played one match less than the rest of the group due to the fact that their clash in Brazil a couple of months ago got suspended after several opening minutes, with four Argentinians judged to have broken COVID-19 protocols. The date of the match is yet to be decided.

Meanwhile, Argentina have been on very good form in their most recent games. Their last-six run saw them record four wins and two draws. They first played a goalless draw away to Paraguay, then beat Uruguay at home 3-0, beat Peru at home by 1-0, beat Uruguay away by 0-1, played a goalless draw at home against Brazil, and triumphed in Chile by 1-2 a few days ago.

Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria broke the deadlock after just nine minutes, and his opener was cancelled out by Ben Brereton Diaz in the 20th. It was Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez who scored the winner for the Albiceleste in the 34th.

Team News

Defenders Nicolas Otamendi and Nicolas Tagliafico, as well as midfielders Rodrigo de Paul and Leandro Paredes, were all booked against Chile and are suspended for this match. Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister recently tested positive for COVID-19 and remains out, as does forward Papu Gomez due to an ankle issue. 

The most notable absence is, of course, Lionel Messi. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner had also been COVID positive recently, and with the team practically already at the World Cup, there was no need to interrupt his recovery at this point and he hasn’t traveled for these games at all.

However, Scaloni will be happy about midfielders Guido Rodriguez and Maxi Meza, along with wingers Lucas Ocampos and Emiliano Buendia, being back in contention.

Colombia

Things are pretty different for Colombia at the moment. Sitting sixth with 17 points, they have a lot of work to do in the last three matches if they want to find themselves at the World Cup. They’re three points off Peru in fourth (the last spot that leads directly to Qatar), and two points off Uruguay in fifth, which warrants only a spot in the play-offs. Still, that would obviously be better than finishing where they are now, and missing out altogether.

The fans in Colombia will have been buzzing in the last few days with the transfer stories surrounding Luis Diaz. Considered by many the best player the country presently has to offer, the winger was close to moving from FC Porto to Tottenham Hotspur, but Liverpool stepped decisively into the fray and signed Diaz for themselves. The 25-year-old will now be keen to show his new employers that the €45 million (plus €20m in potential add-ons) haven’t been thrown into the wind.

On the other hand, Colombia’s recent form is hardly an encouraging aspect for Reinaldo Rueda’s team. Their last six matches saw them link two home goalless draws, against Brazil and Ecuador, before losing 1-0 away to Brazil. Then they played another 0-0 draw, at home against Paraguay, even though the visitors ended the match with 10 men, beat Honduras 2-1 at home, and eventually lost 0-1 at home to Peru.

Colombia had 69% of possession in that contest and took no less than 30 shots, but the only shot that Peru took on target was the work of Edison Flores in the 85th minute and it found the back of the net.

Team News

Everton defender Yerry Mina is already heading back to Merseyside, having picked up a booking which means he’s suspended. Therefore, William Tessillo, who plays for Mexican side Leon, will likely play alongside Spurs’ Davinson Sanchez in the heart of defence.

Radamel Falcao and Rafael Santos Borre Maury started against Peru, supported by Diaz and James Rodriguez from wide positions, but it remains to be seen if Rueda names all these players in the lineup again after the woes of that match.

Conclusion

Even without Messi and a number of other stars, Argentina are the favourites to win this clash if quality alone is taken as the measuring unit. However, Colombia are the team that obviously need the points more, and it wouldn’t be a big surprise if they take advantage of the home players possibly thinking about returning to their clubs already and get something from it.

Be that as it may, the match should be a lively affair.

Verdict: Total goals over 2.5

Best odds: 29/20

Bookmaker: Unibet