World Cup 2022 Argentina vs Saudi Arabia, Tips and Predictions

Argentina vs Saudi Arabia start their Group C campaign in an early kick off at the Lusail Stadium. The World Cup betting odds are heavily favoured towards Argentina, who will be fancied to begin this tournament with a convincing victory.

As they often do, Argentina cruised through qualification, winning 11 of their 17 matches in the South American qualifying section. Lionel Scaloni’s side have plenty of firepower, however, they are also defensively secure and conceded just twice in their last five qualifying matches. The 2014 runners-up were disappointing in Russia and they will be looking to make amends for their round of 16 exit at the hands of France.

Saudi Arabia opened Russia 2018 with a heavy 5-0 defeat to the hosts. Despite this poor start, they did manage to win their first World Cup match since 1994 as they edged past Egypt in Volgograd. Saudi Arabia eased through qualification, finishing above Japan and Australia.

10Bet are predicting a one-sided 90 minutes with Argentina priced up as the 2/11 favourites. Bwin are offering a standout 35/2 on Saudi Arabia to cause one of the biggest World Cup shocks in the history of the tournament.

• These two sides have only met twice previously. It’s exactly a decade since they last opposed one another with the pair playing out a stalemate in an international friendly. They also met in the Confederations Cup back in 1992.
• Argentina – Argentina won just one of their four matches at the 2018 World Cup, however, they have won each of their last two matches against Asian opposition at this tournament (Iran and South Korea). The South American side conceded just eight times in 17 qualifying matches.
• Saudi Arabia– Despite finishing top of their qualifying group, Saudi Arabia have failed to score in five of their last seven World Cup matches. They also failed to score more than a single goal in any of their last six qualifying games.

Argentina are short-priced favourites for this contest with 10Bet and it’s difficult to see them slipping up in their opening Group C contest. Saudi Arabia may be able to put up some resistance, but their opponents are likely to have too much talent and firepower.

ARGENTINA TO WIN TO NIL

Argentina have a number of superb attacking players and should be able to find a way through, however, Saudi Arabia will be keen to avoid a repeat of their 2018 embarrassment. Nevertheless, they could buckle before the break.

ARGENTINA TO SCORE IN BOTH HALVES

Saudi Arabia lost 1-0 to Uruguay at the 2018 World Cup and made themselves hard to break down. However, Argentina are significantly better than their fellow South American opposition.

CORRECT SCORE 3-0 ARGENTINA

Argentina

Argentina are always amongst the outright favourites heading into a major tournament and Lionel Scaloni must find a way to ensure that his talented squad are able to live up to that hype. Despite the presence of Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez, the coach will need to ensure that his side are a cohesive unit throughout the competition.

Key Players: Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez, Angel Di Maria, Lucas Ocampos.

Team News: Both Angel di Maria and Paulo Dybala have recovered from recent setbacks and will be available for selection here. Lionel Scaloni tends to favour the 4-3-3 and that will allow both Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez to start alongside the aforementioned Di Maria

Predicted Lineups: Emi Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico, Nahuel Molina, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella, Rodrigo de Paul, Paulo Dybala, Guido Rodriguez, Angel Di Maria, Lautaro Martinez, Lionel Messi.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia will be fully prepared for this Group C opener with a number of friendlies scheduled ahead of the tournament. They managed to keep clean sheets in three of their last five qualifiers, however they’ve been drawn in a tough section and this is a huge step up in quality.

Key Players: Salem Al-Dawsari

Team News: Saudi Arabia have a virtually full squad to select from. Saleh Al-Shehri has returned to full fitness and is likely to be given chance to prove his fitness here

Predicted Lineups: Mohammed Al-Owais, Yasir Al-Shahrani, Abdullah Madu, Hassan Al Tambakti, Mohammed Al-Burayk, Sami Al-Najei, Mohammed Kanno, Salem Al-Dawsari, Salman Al-Faraj, Hattan Baherbi, Firas Al-Buraikan.

There will be a number of one-sided contests at the 2022 World Cup and this one is unlikely to go against the odds. Argentina should have too much quality for Saudi Arabia and clinch three points without getting out of first gear.

Bet on Argentina to Win to Nil