Brazil and Argentina meet in Beijing on Saturday afternoon (BST) at the 2008 Olympic ‘Birds Nest’ Stadium for a commercially led but still possibly entertaining International friendly.
The ex-Barcelona and new Argentine head coach, Gerardo Martino, orchestrated a superb 4-2 win over Germany in his first game in charge, a match in which Angel Di Maria stole all the headlines with a turbo-charged and assist laden performance.
Carlos Dunga is at the helm of the Nike sponsored ship that is the Brazil National team for the second time in his managerial career. The military buzz-cutted former World Cup winning midfielder has brought 32 year old ex World player of the year (2007), Kaka, back into the Selecao squad, along with another forgotten and far more wasted talent, Robinho – both players are currently plying their trade back home in the Brasileiro Serie A.
I would go for ‘Both teams to score – Yes’ here in what should be an interesting autumn Super Clasico in front of a potential 91,000 strong Chinese crowd at the National Stadium.
The previous three friendlies between the teams have all seen both teams score, and produce an above average 13 goals. The rivalry between the two South American giants should make for a fairly competitive match, short of high intensity tournament pressure, but possibly full of goal scoring chances. Barcelona team-mates Neymar and Messi have been consistent scorers in friendly Internationals in recent years; the Brazilian Neymar has contributed to 5 of his side’s 13 goals, while the mercurial Messi has netted 11 of Argentina’s last 15 goals in non-competitive matches.
Both Martino and Dunga should pick their strongest possible side for this encounter as a matter of national pride, with a more than likely experimental line-up for the following friendly three days later as Brazil face Japan and Argentina take on Hong Kong.
Defensively minded Dunga has been trying to keep things tighter at the back but has been forced to replace the injured Marquinhos this week with Inter Milan’s Juan, who will partner David Luiz in the centre of defence. Neymar is the only forward in the squad to not play in Brazil as Dunga has intentionally increased the quota of home-based players in order to try to re-connect with the disillusioned public after their disastrous World Cup exit in June. Everton Ribeiro, Diego Tardelli and Robinho will all be vying for a starting spot up front, while the Premier League trio of Willian, Coutinho and Oscar are competing for a place in the attacking midfield and wide positions.
With Messi purring at the moment for a highly functioning Barcelona, and Di Maria in fine fettle for Manchester United, I can see this being a game of goals and chances for both sides as the Argentine’s commitment to attack will leave spaces for Brazil to exploit.
Put a medium to large stake on an Over 2.5 goal result at 1.8 Euro odds or 4/5 UK.
Go for a similar sized bet on Both teams to score – Yes at 1.6 Euro odds or 3/5 UK.
