Brazil v Argentina Betting Tip Brazil – 16 October 2018

Experience of Brazil can make the difference

International Football Tips

Tuesday 16th October 1900hrs Brazil v Argentina Football – International – Friendly Saudi Arabia has been making headlines for very disturbing reasons and there’s something sour about the fact that two of the most prestigious teams in football will be playing in the country as part of a four team tournament which also features the hosts and Iraq. This will be the second and final game for the South American giants and political views aside, there is plenty to get excited about when these rivals face off against each other. Continue reading for a match preview of Brazil and Argentina with a selected best betting tip.

Brazil went into the summer’s World Cup as the favourites and rightly so having dominated South American qualifying and looking a much more rounded team than when hosting the previous tournament, which they hosted. Their build-up was not ideal, however, with Neymar suffering an injury in February that kept him out until the end of the domestic season and ensuring he never had the sharpness or form that would be required to lead his nation to glory. Instead they went out at the hands of Belgium in the quarter finals and were left rueing what could have been. Tite deservedly kept his job as head coach and he will almost certainly lead them into next year’s Copa America which will be held in Brazil. There has been little in the way of a hangover following the World Cup with three straight wins achieved with a minimum of fuss, as you would expect against teams of limited quality. Their most recent game came in the first of this mini tournament against the hosts Saudi Arabia – a match they strolled to a 2-0 win on Friday. Gabriel Jesus and Alex Sandro got the goals on that occasion and it’s likely that there will be resistance to make significant changes as Tite searches for consistency ahead of next summer.

Despite reaching the World Cup final in 2014 and possessing an in form and confident Lionel Messi, Argentina went into the World Cup in Russia with minimal expectations. It required a heroic hat trick in their final qualification match to ensure they even reached the finals whilst a late goal in their final group game against Nigeria meant they never suffered the shame of exiting at the first hurdle. Their participation wasn’t to last much longer, however, as eventual winners France disposed of them in the round of 16. The shambolic nature of their World Cup meant that Jorge Sampaoli – their highest ever paid coach – was relieved of his duties and remains in an ongoing battle with the Argentine Football Association around severance. Former national team player Lionel Scaloni has been put in temporary charge whilst the authorities decide on a more permanent man to lead them into the Copa America and 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Scaloni elected to select an experimental squad for the games in Saudi Arabia with only eight of the players who played in Russia called up. Messi is expected to return at some point, all going well, but it means some other players have a chance to stake their claim. The new era started well enough on Thursday when defeating Iraq 4-0 with four different scorers.

Brazil v Argentina Betting Tip

It’s one of the best rivalries in football and whilst it may be that whenever Brazil and Argentina meet it’s unlikely to be a friendly, it’s safe to suggest that if there is ever going to be one then Tuesday’s game might well be it. It comes in a period where neither team are playing any competitive football and is very much the early stages of preparation for the Copa America next summer. It’s also being arranged for financial reasons in what will almost certainly be a very lucrative few says in Saudi for both nations.

Brazil are the much more settled of these two teams and Tite has a group of players he knows and can trust. He has opted to try out a new system since their World Cup disappointment but there’s a familiarity with it all. Argentina, on the other hand, are anything but settled and it will be a long time before that can be said. There are also problems that are deep routed within the whole system that will need to be sorted ahead of a permanent manager being appointed.

As expected these two got off to a winning start against inferior opposition last week and will be well aware that they face a much sterner test on Tuesday. Argentina have more than a few players who are capable of individual brilliance that could see them edge this but Brazil are functioning outfit that will very likely have too much for their opponents and they can make it four wins out of four since the World Cup.

Selection: Brazil 63/100 @ William Hill