Copa America: Argentina vs Paraguay preview

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June 12th, 2015
Back Copa America: Argentina vs Paraguay preview

Argentina kick off their drive towards a 15th Copa America title on Saturday when they meet Paraguay at the Estadio La Portada. Whoever wins this group will be most likely to avoid Brazil in the quarter-finals, so every point can prove crucial. The two sides have met on 103 occasions, Paraguay have won just 15 times while Argentina had 58 wins. The last three meetings were won by Argentina.

Argentina have not won the tournament since 1993. They have reached two finals since then, but lost both to rivals Brazil. Lionel Messi has played in the last of those finals and he will probably be determined to win the trophy as he hasn't won any silverware with his country yet. Coach Gerardo Martino has a world-class bunch of players under his command, star footballers like Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel di Maria and Sergio Aguero, so expectations are very high.

Paraguay enjoyed their best days under current Argentina coach Gerardo Martino, he led them to the World Cup quarter-finals in 2010. Martino also led them to second place in the 2011 Copa America but after he left they failed to qualify for the World Cup. Their star player is Roque Santa Cruz, who played for Blackburn and Manchester City, but now he plays for Mexican side Cruz Azul at the age of 33.

Probable line-ups:

Argentina: Romero - Roncaglia, Garay, Otamendi, Rojo - Mascherano, Banega, Pastore - Di Maria, Aguero, Messi

Paraguay: Villar - M Caceres, Da Silva, Balbuena, Samudio - Valdez, Ortiz, V Caceres, Benitez, Ortigoza - Santa Cruz

My prediction: Argentina to win 3-0.

Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:

Argentina win - 1.30 Draw - 5.50 Paraguay win - 10.00

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