Brazil vs Argentina: Preview and Prediction

Brazil vs Argentina
South American – FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
Date: Thursday, 10th November 2016,
Kick Off at 23:45 UK.
Venue: Mineirao Stadium, Belo Horizonte.

There will be plenty of emotions running in the Brazilian camp when they play host to bitter rivals Argentina for the 11th round South American World Cup Qualifying fixtures on Wednesday evening. The match will be hosted at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, the same venue where Brazil suffered a 7-1 thumping defeat from the hands of Germany in the 2014 FIFA World Cup semi-finals. And two years since then, many players in the squad including team captain Neymar has already made it clear that they will be out there to make the fans forgot about the humiliation.

Brazil currently sit on top of the South American qualifying table with 21 points from their 10 games, just 1 point clear off the second placed Uruguay. While Argentina are 6th in the table with 16 points.

The Selecao were excellent form in recent fixtures picking up four straight wins in an unbeaten run of 9 matches. They also scored 12 goals in the last four while conceding just once.

Argentina are on a poor run and are win-less in the last three. They lost at home to Paraguay in the round 10 fixture before being held to consecutive draws in the previous two. The head-coach Edgardo Bauza is already feeling the pressure and will be keen to see his players respond in a positive manger against their biggest South American rivals.

Brazil vs Argentina: Head-to-Head Stats

The teams settled for a 1-1 draw when they met for the first leg of qualifiers on November 2015. Ezequiel Lavezzi opened the scoring for Argentina in the 34th minute which was cancelled by a Lucas Lima goal in the 58th minute. Brazil finished the game with 10 men as David Luiz was sent-off in the 88th minute.

Brazil had the last laugh in the last three home matches against Argentina, winning all three scoring 2 goals each. The last time Argentina visited Brazil for a World Cup qualifier, they earned a 0-0 draw. However, Brazil haven’t lost at home to Argentina in any competition since 1990, which is a 10 match unbeaten run with 9 wins and a draw.

Brazil vs Argentina: Prediction

Brazil certainly look clear favourites judging by their current form. Argentina are on a free fall and hardly found their rhythm in the recent outings. They are unbeaten in the away games in qualifiers with 2 wins and 3 draws, but their wobbly form won’t be enough to withstand a compact Brazilian unit. The chances are to be taken in this fixture and we believe Brazil could be confidently backed to end up as comfortable winners. And goal markets are expected to stay above the 2.5 mark.