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Argentina will host arch rivals Brazil at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario in a 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier on Tuesday.
It is first meets second in the CONMEBOL 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers as continental stalwarts Brazil and Argentina square off against each other. Lionel Scaloni's men just about managed to get past a dogged Uruguayan unit in their latest outing. They won the game 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Angel Di Maria.
Argentina can book a place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup with a positive result this week. They remain unbeaten in the Qualifiers just like their Tuesday opponents Brazil. The Selecao scraped past Colombia in their latest game thanks to a Lucas Paqueta goal in the 72nd minute of the match.
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Lionel Scaloni views this high-profile encounter with Brazil as an important one. That's probably the reason why he even called up Lionel Messi, who has been recovering from a knock, to the squad. Without further ado, let's take a look at how Argentina could line up against Brazil on Tuesday.
Argentina Predicted XI vs Brazil
Goalkeeper - Emiliano Martinez
No surprises here. Emiliano Martinez is easily the first-choice goalkeeper for Argentina. While he has suffered in recent weeks with Aston Villa, Martinez has continued to be immense for La Albiceleste and has kept four clean sheets on the bounce heading into this one.
Right-back - Nahuel Molina
Udinese man Nahuel Molina has nailed down the right-back spot in the starting lineup in recent months. Molina has started each of Argentina's six games since the Copa America final. The 23-year-old put in a shift against Uruguay and was one of Argentina's best players in the game.
He made three clearances and five tackles and showed great positional awareness to keep the Uruguayan attackers at bay.
Centre-back - Cristian Romero
Cristian Romero has become a mainstay in the Argentina backline, starting all of their last four matches and helping his side keep clean sheets in all of them. Against Uruguay, he was sharp and made several key interceptions and clearances. He ought to keep his place here as he looks well settled.
Centre-back - Nicolas Otamendi
Nicolas Otamendi has been a fixture in this Argentina defence in recent times. He has been immense for Lionel Scaloni's men at the back and has conceded just one goal in their last seven games. He has struck up a strong partnership with Romero as well and will keep his place for the game against Brazil.
Left-back - Marcos Acuna
Sevilla left-back Marcos Acuna looked a bit uncomfortable on occasion against Uruguay. But he was his industrious self as usual. Acuna also played Messi in with a lovely ball late in the game but the latter skied his effort.
Defensive midfield - Leandro Paredes
Lionel Scaloni has altered his midfield to suit the needs of the situation in Argentina's recent games. He has a good number of choices when it comes to midfield. Guido Rodriguez started against Brazil but he did struggle on occasion against Luis Suarez even though his distribution was tidy.
But Leandro Paredes started all of Argentina's four games in the build-up to the one against Uruguay. Scaloni is likely to go back to his trusted deep-lying midfielder. Paredes adds a lot of bite to the Argentina midfield and he can play as the anchorman for his side.
Central midfield - Rodrigo De Paul
Argentina's all-action midfielder Rodrigo De Paul will need to be on high-alerts against a formidable Brazilian midfield. De Paul has the ability to bomb forward and help out in defence as well. He is a great ball progressor and is a neat distributor as well.
De Paul played some lovely balls to his forwards in the game against Uruguay. He was a very lively presence in midfield and did not afford the Uruguayan midfielders a moment's peace as he kept hounding them throughout. Scaloni will ask for more of the same from the Atletico Madrid man who is always up for a fight.
Central midfield - Giovani Lo Celso
Giovani Lo Celso is likely to be in a slightly less advanced position than Rodrigo De Paul. His main responsibility will be to lend some solidity to Argentina's midfield alongside either Leandro Paredes or Guido Rodriguez.
The 25-year-old has not exactly been in great form and will need to get back to his best. He will have a lot of running to do as Brazil are expected to pull no punches against their rivals.
The match could very well be won in midfield as both teams have strong attacking units. So a lot will depend on the kind of work that the trio of Paredes, Lo Celso and De Paul will put in on Tuesday night.
Right wing - Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi's inclusion in the squad this time made a lot of people raise their eyebrows. But Lionel Scaloni seems intent on making a statement in this international break and it's easy to see that this fixture aagainstBrazil is important to him.
Messi had been sidelined since October 30 with a knee problem and had missed PSG's games against RB Leipzig and Bordeaux leading into the international break. But he featured for about 15 minutes in the 1-0 win over Uruguay after being brought on as a substitute.
Messi was guilty of missing a good chance towards the end of the game after Marcos Acuna had played him into a good position. Paulo Dybala might not be fit to start the game and if that's the case, Messi will be playing from the start.
The only reason there's a little bit of doubt over his involvement is that he's still recovering from the knock he picked up in the game against Lille.
Left-winger - Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria was one of Argentina's standout performers in the game against Uruguay. He scored a brilliant goal and created a couple of very good chances for his side. Few players show as much sharpness in the final third as Di Maria does. He also shares a good rapport with Lionel Messi on the field.
With Di Maria, the burden of playmaking won't just be on Messi or Lo Celso. Di Maria can play defence splitting passes and is a hard worker as well. There's no reason why Di Maria would start on the bench here.
Striker - Lautaro Martinez
Lautaro Martinez has done a commendable job as the marksman in this Argentina side. However, he was uncharacteristically off-colour in the game against Uruguay. Martinez failed to make any sort of impression and was taken off in the 55th minute.
The 24-year-old has failed to score in his last seven matches for Inter Milan as well and has been going through a rough patch. He will want to make a statement against Argentina's bitter rivals on Tuesday night. Scaloni will persist with him but he has to get back to his best and nail down a starting berth.
