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Odds: Argentina 19/20, Draw 12/5, Italy 14/5
Kick Off: 1945, 23/03/2018
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
Argentina are expected to enjoy plenty of local support when facing Italy in an international friendly at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Friday.
City stars Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Otamendi are in Jorge Sampaoli’s squad, along with United duo Sergio Romero and Marcos Rojo.
La Albiceleste should be more fired up for this clash and get a confident vote at 19/20 in our Argentina vs Italy betting predictions.
Argentina were far from convincing in the South American qualifying section for this summer’s World Cup, only clinching third place when a Lionel Messi hat-trick helped them to win 3-1 in Ecuador.
That ended a run of four competitive fixtures without a victory, but the moderate run of results does mean that places on the plane to Russia are still up for grabs.
Juventus forward Gonzalo Higuain is one of those hoping to impress in this game and next Tuesday’s tussle with Spain in Madrid after Sampaoli ended his nine-month international exile.
Higuain told TYC Sport: “In these games, I have to convince the coach to take me to the World Cup and I’m going to do all that I can to be there.
“My job is to play football and do the talking on the pitch. I want to enjoy it and make the most of it. I hope everything goes well.”
The likes of Messi and Angel Di Maria obviously add to Argentina’s appeal, while there is a quick return to Manchester for Ever Banega after he starred in Sevilla’s recent Champions League triumph at Old Trafford.
Looking at the Argentina vs Italy odds, we like 19/10 for La Albiceleste to record a clinical win to nil.
Italy are in the unusual position of providing warm-up opposition for other teams heading to Russia 2018 after failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958.
The warning signs were there when the Azzurri stuttered through the last few games in their group, losing 3-0 in Spain and then only scraping 1-0 wins over Israel and Albania either side of a 1-1 draw with Macedonia.
That lack of sparkle up front continued through two legs of a play-off with Sweden, who advanced via a 1-0 aggregate scoreline.
Caretaker coach Luigi Di Biagio does have some decent strikers at his disposal in the form of Lazio’s Serie A Golden Boot favourite Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne of Napoli.
However, a distinct lack of creativity in midfield prompts us to take 7/1 for the Azzurri to go down 2-0 in our Argentina vs Italy betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
ARGENTINA 2-4 Nigeria – Ever Banega, Sergio Aguero
ITALY 0-0 Sweden
Head-to-head: Italy 1-2 Argentina, Italy 1-2 Argentina, Italy 1-1 Argentina, Italy 0-0 Argentina, Italy 3-1 Argentina, Italy 1-1 Argentina
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Best bets for Argentina vs Italy
Argentina to win @ 19/20
Argentina to win to nil @ 19/10
Argentina to win 2-0 @ 7/1
