Argentina vs Peru
Argentina are in prime position to qualify for World Cup 2022. With the help of the great Lionel Messi’s goals, they are second in the standings after going undefeated through the first 10 and are six points clear of the chasing pack.
La Albiceleste will look to further solidify their World Cup qualification status when they host seventh-placed Peru, who are four points adrift of fifth place and the inter-confederation play-off spot.
The World Cup 2022 odds will once again be heavily against Peru as they make the tough trip to Buenos Aires, where Messi has been his usual magical self.
Talking Points
Messi still in top form for his country
Argentina are still unbeaten in this World Cup qualifying campaign after two more positive results during this international break. They picked up a draw in a goalless draw away to Paraguay, then smashed Uruguay 3-0 in their most recent outing at home.
Lionel Messi led the way once again as he scored his 80th career international goal. Meanwhile, Rodrigo De Paul and Lautaro Martinez also scored to seal La Albiceleste’s second 3-0 home win in a row.
Messi may not be at his best quite yet for his new club, Paris Saint-Germain, but he is still his old magical self for his country. He has scored six goals during World Cup qualifying, all of which have come at home. Three of those goals came in Argentina’s 3-0 home win over Bolivia in September.
Lautaro Martinez has also been in impressive goalscoring form, finding the net five times in his last seven games for his country.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has opted to play with a 4-2-3-1 formation during this international break, with Messi playing a more classic No. 10 role behind a lead striker. Scaloni will likely make a few rotations to his squad, with the likes of Papu Gomez, Joaquin Correa, and Nicolas Gonzalez in contention to return to the first XI.
Meanwhile, he could also make alterations to the spine of the team, which has been quite settled. The Nicolas Otamendi-Cristian Romero and Rodrigo De Paul-Leandro Paredes partnerships have started the last two games in the centre of defence and midfield, respectively, but they could be given a rest in this third and final game.
Peru having problems up front
Peru ended their decades-long wait to return to the World Cup in 2018, but their hopes of making it back in 2022 are not looking too promising at the moment. Los Incas are currently in seventh place, with just three wins and six defeats in their first 11 qualifying games.
Peru got off to a terrible start to qualifying as they lost four of their first five games. But to their credit, they improved their World Cup 2022 results as they picked up three wins in five games.
However, they suffered a major blow last time out as they lost 1-0 away to Bolivia, who had been bottom of the table.
Peru are having their problems scoring goals. They have just 10 goals in 11 games, the third-lowest total in CONMEBOL. All-time top goalscorer Paolo Guerrero (38 goals) is no longer a reliable source of goals, and the 37-year-old is not even with the squad this international break due to injury.
36-year-old Jefferson Farfan, the country’s second all-time leading scorer with 27 goals, is captaining the side in Guerrero’s absence, but he himself has not scored for his country since June 2019.
With centre-forward Gianluca Lapadula (3 goals in 14 caps) also struggling to score goals, the midfield duo of Christian Cueva and Andre Carillo has taken on the added responsibility. The two are the co-leading scorers in qualifying with three goals apiece.
History
Argentina have simply dominated Peru over the years. La Albiceleste have a commanding 34-7 advantage in terms of all-time wins, with 14 draws. Peru’s last win over Argentina came back in 1997.
Argentina have won 10 of the 14 meetings since, including their first matchup in this qualifying campaign. Goals from Nicolas Gonzalez and Lautaro Martinez sealed a comfortable 2-0 win for the Argentines in Lima back in November 2020.
Betting Tip
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Argentina vs Peru | Argentina Asian Handicap -1.50 @ 1.86 |
| October 15, 07:30 (GMT+8) |
Unsurprisingly, the SBOTOP are overwhelmingly in Argentina’s favour. La Albiceleste are priced at 1.25 to win at home, while Peru are a whopping 11.00 to pull off the upset. Meanwhile, a draw is at 5.20.
Given Messi and Argentina’s fine form at home of late, it’s hard to see anything other than a win for the hosts. Besides Messi, Argentina can also call upon the likes of Lautaro Martinez and Angel Di Maria to provide some quality up front.
With Argentina’s impressive attacking weapons – and Peru’s lack thereof – the signs point to another pretty comfortable home win for Messi and co.
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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