Without a doubt, the marquee game of Group A will be the clash between Chile and Argentina. Both teams are favourites to progress to the knockout stage and in the case of Argentina even favourites to win the entire tournament. And while the world champions got off with a win, La Roja managed just a draw with Peru.
Chile Team News
Chile’s opener definitely could have been better than the 0-0 draw they recorded with Peru. And while a draw in such tournaments is not necessarily a disappointment, it likely ringed off some alarm in La Roja’s camp. With just 3 wins from their last 10 fixtures form for Chile isn’t exactly great and therein lies the concerns for the team. A loss against Argentina is a scenario that Ricardo Gareca will want to avoid at any cost. Such an outcome will surely put his team in an unfavourable position and might even cost them progression to the next stage, something Chile have done in all editions of the Copa America since 2004.
Argentina Team News
World champions Argentina began their Copa America campaign with a 2-0 win over outsiders Canada, but their performance wasn’t as convincing as many had hoped. As such much was left to be desired by many, especially given the fact that Canada could have taken the lead around the half-hour mark and made the job for Argentina that much harder. But despite the somewhat lacklustre game it was still a win and the sixth consecutive one that Argentina forged. In 4 of those victories, the world champions managed to score at least 2 goals which alludes to a potent attack.
Head-to-Head-Games
There is a rich history of games between Chile and Argentina. Looking at the last 5 head-to-head matches we can see 2 wins for Argentina and 3 draws. The 2 wins for them came with the same 2-1 result. Overall, plenty of goals is not something to be regularly expected when Chile and Argentina play one another.
Chile – Argentina Betting Prediction
Chile probably wished they won their opener against Peru as that would have put them in a much better position before their game against Argentina. Now, La Roja must ensure that they do not lose the game and preferably win it to keep their hopes alive. A second win in the group stage would mean that Argentina would qualify for the knockout stage. Given that both teams are very likely to search for the win I expect an interesting match. Thus, my pick will be for Argentina to score over 1.5 goals – it is something they regularly manage to do in recent games and somewhat often when playing with Chile. Given the stakes, I can envision them going on the offensive as well so that they can secure their place in the next stage.
Betting Tip: Argentina Over 1.5 Goals
Bookmaker: BC.Game
Odds: 1.65
BC.Game
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