Bolivia vs Argentina prediction, preview, team news and more | FIFA World Cup Qualifier 2020
Argentina will take on Bolivia in the second round of South American FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers on Tuesday night at the Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz.
Bolivia were hammered 5-0 in their opening fixture by Brazil while Lionel Messi's Argentina got past Ecuador thanks to the Barcelona man's first-half penalty.
Bolivia have had the misfortune of facing two of the best teams in the competition in the very early stages of the qualification campaign and can only hope for a different outcome on their home turf compared to what they got on their visit to Brazil last week.
Bolivia vs Argentina Head-to-Head
The two neighbours have squared off on 37 occasions across all competitions, with their first meeting coming all the way back in 1926. Most of their recent meetings have come in the various World Cup qualifiers, including their last encounter in 2017 ahead of the 2018 World Cup, which was won by the home side.
The head-to-head record is in favour of the Albiceleste, as one would expect, with Lionel Scaloni's team recording 25 wins. Bolivia have emerged victorious on seven occasions and the remaining five games have ended in draws.
In their last 10 meetings, Argentina have four wins and have scored 21 goals while Bolivia only recorded two wins, including their biggest win over Argentina, a 6-1 thrashing at the Estadio Hernando Siles in 2009.
Bolivia form guide: W-D-W-W-D
Argentina form guide: L-W-L-L-L
Bolivia vs Argentina Team News
Bolivia manager Cesar Farias has named a large squad for the qualification campaign, which means changes in the starting XI that conceded five goals against Brazil are on the table with players like Bolivar defender Jairo Quinteros and The Strongest defender Luis Demiquel in contention to make their international debuts.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Lionel Scaloni will not be a happy man despite Argentina's win in the opening fixture of the competition as they were visibly nervous in their first game in almost a year.
The team has incredible depth in attack but lacks it in defence. For this reason, few changes are expected for Tuesday's game. Juan Foyth will probably start the game while debuts could be handed to Lens left-back Facundo Medina and Granada centre-back Nehuen Perez.
Giovani Lo Celso has withdrawn from the squad as he picked up a muscle injury and has returned to Tottenham Hotspur for further recovery. Argentina have confirmed that Paulo Dybala will not travel to Bolivia as he is not match fit at the moment.
Injured: Marcos Rojo, Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala, Giovani Lo Celso
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Bolivia vs Argentina Predicted XI
Bolivia Predicted XI (4-5-1): Carlos Lampe; Jesús Manuel Sagredo Chávez, Gabriel Valverde, Luis Eduardo, Jose Sagredo; Bruno Miranda, Paul Arano, Carlos Áñez, Cristhian Árabe, Jhasmani Campos; César Menacho
Argentina Predicted XI (4-3-2-1): Franco Armani; Gonzalo Montiel, Lucas Martinez Quarta, Nicolas Otamendi, Nicolas Tagliafico; Exequiel Palacios, Leandro Paredes, Marcos Acuna; Lionel Messi, Alejandro Gomez; Lautaro Martinez
Bolivia vs Argentina prediction
Argentina's tame 1-0 win in the opening fixture, where they scored the only goal of the game in the 13th minute from the penalty spot, failed to impress the critics. The players looked a bit rusty in their first international game since November last year and a lot of work needs to be done defensively.
The visitors will have to rely on their attacking threat yet again and the likes of Messi, Alejandro Gomez and Lautaro Martinez can certainly cause problems for a Bolivia side that leaked goals in recent fixtures.
We predict a win for the visitors in Tuesday's fixture because of the impressive attacking talent in their squad and Bolivia's defensive frailties.
Prediction - Bolivia 0-2 Argentina