After starting the defence of their Copa Am\u00e9rica title with a 2-0 victory over Canada, Argentina will be seeking to make it two wins out of two. They face Chile at the MetLife Stadium, the same venue at which the same opposition beat them in the Copa Am\u00e9rica Centenario Final almost exactly eight years ago to the day. The match takes place on June 26 (GMT). This is our Argentina predicted lineup.<\/p>\n
Lionel Scaloni has a star-studded 26-man squad at his disposal, switching between a 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 in recent fixtures, electing to go with the latter on matchday one.<\/p>\n
This is, primarily, designed to get the best out of Lionel Messi, by putting in place a solid midfield unit behind him. It also gives him a strike partner who can do all the hard work, making decoy runs and so-forth.<\/p>\n
Somewhat surprisingly, Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez was given the nod to lead the attack on Thursday. He broke the deadlock and put in a man-of-the-match performance, hence why he’s likely to keep his place despite Lautaro Mart\u00ednez scoring off the bench in the same fixture.<\/p>\n
Read More<\/strong>: Three Key Takeaways From Mexico\u2019s Win Against Jamaica<\/a><\/p>\n Following a Capocannoniere-winning campaign, scoring 24 times as Inter won a 20th Scudetto, Mart\u00ednez is in red-hot form. He was also on target in friendlies against Costa Rica and Guatemala earlier this year, but Scaloni feels \u00c1lvarez fits into this team better.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, in midfield, Leandro Paredes was chosen to partner Rodrigo De Paul. Alexis Mac Allister fits into an auxiliary left-wing position, allowing \u00c1ngel Di Mar\u00eda to push forward and join the front two.<\/p>\n At the back, Nicol\u00e1s Otamendi had been a mainstay since his debut in 2009, earning 113 caps, but Premier League duo Cristian Romero and Lisandro Mart\u00ednez appear to be first-choice centre-backs going forward. Marcos Acu\u00f1a and Nahuel Molina are the full-backs with Emiliano Mart\u00ednez the goalkeeper.<\/p>\n Following their 2-0 victory over Canada, Argentina have now lost only two of their 40 competitive fixtures since defeat in the 2019 Copa Am\u00e9rica semi-finals. Their sole defeats during these five years came against Saudi Arabia at the World Cup and when Uruguay visited La Bombonera for a qualifier last November.<\/p>\n Since the latter, la Albiceleste<\/em> have won six on the spin, scoring 14 goals and conceding only twice. They are heavy favourites to beat Chile in East Rutherford.<\/p>\n Read More<\/strong>: Copa America Sunday And Monday Predictions Including Brazil Vs Costa Rica<\/a><\/p>\n Scaloni’s side dominate the ball, ending Thursday night with 65% possession. They have averaged 67.27% possession across their 15 fixtures since the World Cup Final, even if a few friendlies against inferior CONCACAF opposition does skew that data slightly.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, expect that trend to continue at MetLife Stadium against a Chilean side who will be comfortable defending deep, seeking to frustrate.<\/p>\n Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez didn’t feature at all against Canada, which was something of a surprise, considering he’d played 34 minutes against Ecuador and 71 against Guatemala in pre-tournament friendlies earlier this month.<\/p>\n Read More<\/strong>: United States vs Bolivia Lineup Prediction For Copa America June 23<\/a><\/p>\nArgentina’s Recent Form and Tactics<\/span><\/h3>\n
Argentina Injuries to Consider<\/span><\/h3>\n