Argentina vs Italy - International Friendly Match Preview and Odds

Published on: 23/03/2018

Argentina vs Italy - International Friendly Match Preview and Odds

March 23, 2018 19:45 Etihad Stadium, Manchester

International friendly

While Argentina will be gunning for World Cup glory this summer, Italy will be watching from the side lines having failed to qualify for the first time in 50 years. While the Italians missed out by the narrowest of margins, Argentina qualified by finishing third in their group, 13 points behind South American pace-setters Brazil.

Argentina have a mix of strength up front and fragility at the back that has made their results difficult to predict. At times brilliant, at others woeful, they are hoping that everything will click once they get on that plane to Russia. Nahuel Guzman is the lead contender to play in goal ahead of Sergio Romero (Manchester United) and Willy Caballero (Chelsea) who barely feature for their respective clubs.

At the back Federico Fazio (Roma) and Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City) are top class performers, while Lucas Biglia (AC Milan), Ever Banega (Sevilla) and Angel Di Maria (PSG) provide the experience in midfield. And then of course we have the front trio of Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona) and Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), while Internazionale striker Mauro Icardi is also knocking on the door.

It is quite remarkable that Italy will not be playing at the World Cup this summer. They have qualified for every edition since 1958 and have a wealth of talent at their disposal. Yet somehow, Gian Piero Ventura managed to bring out the worst in the squad by persisting with a system that seemed doomed to fail from the start. This ultimately led to their play-off defeat against Sweden.

Caretaker coach Luigi Di Biagio will take charge of the side for the first time with veterans such as Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus, Leonardo Bonucci of AC Milan and Marco Parolo of Lazio in his squad. He has also taken the opportunity to hand caps to youngsters including Bryan Cristante of Atalanta and Federico Chiesa of Fiorentina.

Recent Form (All competitions)

Argentina: LDDDW

Italy: WDWLD

Betting odds and tips

While Italy will look to experiment, Argentina have a tournament to prepare for and should be expected to win.

You can back Argentina to win at a price of 13/10.

By Neil Morris