Argentina vs Uruguay Prediction & Pick

Argentina and Uruguay square off in Copa America action on Saturday, in a clash between the two of the entire field’s favorites.

Argentina kicked off their campaign with a slightly disappointing 1-1 draw with Chile, while Uruguay is yet to play, and will look to begin with what would be a huge win.

HISTORY

Argentina leads the all-time series 89-59-46, but the last meeting ended in a 2-2 draw.

Uruguay: Tale of the Tape

Form: D-D-L-W-L

Lineup: Muslera; Gonzalez, Gimenez, Godin, Caceres; Torres, Valverde, Torreira, Rodriguez; Cavani, Suarez

For Uruguay, the big news heading into their Copa America is the return to the squad of Manchester United’s veteran striker Edinson Cavani after having served his two-match suspension due to a red card he picked up in November last year. There is a call-up for Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, who enjoyed a breakthrough season with the club while uncapped forward Brian Ocampo also gets picked in the roster.

Uruguay will be delighted with the return of Man U forward Edinson Cavani, who served his two-match suspension for a red card in November. Uruguay should revert to their twin-striker lineup now that Cavani is available again, meaning Athletico’s Luis Suarez will line up alongside him. Facundo Torres and Jonathan Rodriguez, will line up in the flanks.

Arsenal’s Lucas Torreira and Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde will be tasked with keeping a check on Argentina’s decisive midfield runners. At the back, the centre-back partnership of Diego Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez will start again. The duo will be flanked by Giovanni Gonzalez and Martin Caceres and in goal, there is no looking past Fernando Muslera.

Argentina: Tale of the Tape

Form: D-D-D-W-D

Lineup: Martinez; Montiel, Romero, Otamendi, Tagliafico; De Paul, Paredes, Lo Celso; Messi, Martinez, Di Maria

After drawing in their last three matches, Argentina faces their toughest test yet in Uruguay.
Argentina should set up in a 4-3-3 formation on Friday night, with Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez lining up in goal. He will be covered by the pairing of Nicolas Otamendi and Cristian Romero. Gonzalo Montiel and Nicolas Tagliafico will be the two full-backs who push forward in attack.

In midfield, PSG’s Leandro Paredes and Udinese captain Rodrigo De Paul will line up with Gionvani Lo Celso. Paredes and De Paul will lie deeper in the formation, while Lo Celso will be looked upon for creativity.

Lionel Messi scored a stunning free-kick in the game against Chile, and he’ll look to add to that total tonight. Starting on the right-wing, he will look to get into central areas and create openings for himself or his teammates. Angel Di Maria should step in on the left while Lautaro Martinez starts in front of Sergio Aguero in the number 9 role.

Players to Watch

Lionel Messi

After scoring from the free-kick spot, Argentina still needed more from the 6x Ballon D’Or winner. Look for Messi to find touches and shot early in this one, as Uruguay presents quite the challenge.

Luis Suarez

After drawing in their first two matches of the summer, Uruguay will get a boost when they receive Edinson Cavani back. The Man U ace’s return should open things up for Suarez, and these two can get back to being one of the best tandems in the world.