FIFA World Cup qualifier preview: Peru vs Argentina

Peru are scheduled to host Argentina in Tuesday’s CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup qualifier at the Estadio Nacional de Lima.

The 2019 Copa America runners-up have made a poor start to their qualifying campaign and they have accumulated just one point from the first three games.

In comparison, Argentina have fared pretty well with seven points already on the board. Lionel Scaloni’s side are currently second in the standings with a two-point deficit to Brazil, who have made the perfect start.

Peru, on the other hand, are eighth on the table and they are already five points adrift of fourth-placed Uruguay, who are holding the final automatic qualification spot for the 2022 World Cup.

Peru recently faced Chile away where they were beaten 2-0 after Arturo Vidal’s brace. Argentina, meanwhile, played out a 1-1 draw at home to Paraguay. Angel Romero scored for the visitors from the penalty spot, but Nicolas Gonzalez equalised before the break.

Key Stats:

There have been 54 meetings between the two in the past. Argentina have had the clear upper hand with 33 wins to Peru’s seven.

Peru have failed to beat Argentina in the previous 13 matches across all competitions.

Their last victory came during the 1997 Copa America quarter-final where they won by a 2-1 scoreline.

Despite Argentina’s dominance, they were unable to beat Peru in both qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.

Team News:

Centre-back Carlos Zambrano won’t feature for Ricardo Gareca’s side as he will be the serving the second game of a three-match suspension for the red card against Brazil. Gianluca Lapadula could earn his maiden start upfront ahead of Raul Ruidiaz. Elsewhere, the team could remain the same.

Predicted Peru Line-up (4-2-3-1): Pedro Gallese; Luis Advincula, Miguel Araujo, Luis Abram, Miguel Trauco; Renato Tapia, Yoshimar Yotun; Andre Carillo, Edison Flores, Pedro Aquino; Gianluca Lapadula

Argentina don’t have any fresh concerns to deal with, but they are without several key players with injuries. Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala, Juan Foyth, Roberto Pereyra and Marcos Acuna are among those missing. Nicolas Tagliafico is, however, available after a foot injury.

Predicted Argentina Line-up (3-4-2-1): Franco Armani; Gonzalo Montiel, Lucas Martinez, Nicolas Otamendi; Rodrigo de Paul, Giovani Lo Celso, Leandro Paredes, Nicolas Tagliafico; Lionel Messi, Angel di Maria; Lautaro Martinez

Predicted Score:

Argentina struggled for goals during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers where they netted only 19 times from 18 matches. The trend has been quite similar with just four goals from three games this time around which will be a cause for concern.

Against Peru, they will start as overwhelming favourites despite the absence of key players. Still, we are not anticipating a straight-forward win, considering the hosts will be determined to get something out of the game after back-to-back defeats.

Lionel Messi, who is the all-time top scorer with 71 goals for Argentina, has managed just one goal from six outings against Peru and that’s his worst scoring record among the CONMEBOL teams. He will be hoping to end his 13-year scoreless streak against them.

Peru 0-1 Argentina

Stats from Transfermarkt.com and 11v11.com