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After the bizarre and dramatic suspension of their game against Brazil, Argentina will return to FIFA World Cup qualifier action against Bolivia on Thursday. La Albiceleste are yet to lose a game in the World Cup Qualifying stage as they take on Bolivia.
Lionel Scaloni's men have maintained their form from their Copa America triumph and beat Venezuela 3-1 last week. Argentina have 12 points from six qualifying matchups and have already beaten Bolivia 4-1 back in June.
Bolivia held Columbia to a 1-1 draw last week before falling to a heavy 4-1 defeat at the hands of Uruguay. Argentina are easily the stronger side on paper and they have the kind of personnel to get past Bolivia with ease.
Argentina's latest outing against Brazil was stopped after 10 minutes as health officials stormed the pitch. They did so because several Argentina players had not observed quarantine players causing the match to be suspended.
Following the suspension of the game, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Bunedia have reportedly returned to England. However, Tottenham Hotspur's Giovanni Lo Celso and Cristian Romero are set to be handed a hefty fine for defying the club's orders.
They reportedly joined with the Argentina squad against the order of Spurs and all four players will miss the game against Bolivia.
Without further ado, let's take a look at how Argentina could line up against Bolivia.
Argentina Goalkeeper
In Emiliano Martinez's absence, Geronimo Rulli will play guardian of the sticks. The Villarreal goalkeeper has been called up to the national side numerous times but opportunities have been really scanty. He will look to make an impression here in the absence of Martinez.
Argentina defenders
Gonzalo Montiel started the game against Brazil. The game lasted only 10 mins and he is expected to keep his place in the starting XI.
The centre-back of pairing of Nicolas Otamendi and German Pezzella from the game against Venezuela is likely to be reinstated. Otamendi was paired with Cristian Romero for the game against Brazil but now we all know how that one panned out.
Nicolas Tagliafico has been in rather poor form in recent times and Marcos Acuna is likely to keep his place at left-back in the Argentina starting lineup. The Sevilla left-back has turned in a handful of impressive performances in recent times and Scaloni will expect him to have a good outing here.
Argentina midfielders
With Giovanni Lo Celso set to miss the game against Bolivia, Lionel Scaloni is likely to go with a 4-2-3-1. Argentina are expected to start with a midfield double pivot of Rodrigo De Paul and Leandro Paredes.
Paredes will hold the fort down in midfield while De Paul will have a freer role. The Atletico Madrid midfielder's primary duty will be to keep things steady at the centre of the park. But he will join the attack to create an overload in and around Bolivia's box whenever Argentina embark on an attack.
Argentina forwards
Ahead of Rodrigo De Paul and Leandro Paredes, the likes of Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi and Nicolas Gonzalez are expected to be deployed.
Nicolas Gonzalez has turned in a few exciting performances in the qualifiers. He has scored two goals and provided an assist in three FIFA World Cup Qualifier appearances. The 24-year-old will start on the left side and look to cut inside and link up with the likes of Messi, Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez.
Angel Di Maria will take his place on the right wing. The Paris Saint-Germain playmaker scored the lone goal of the Copa America 2021 final against Brazil. Even though he hasn't featured for La Albiceleste as regularly as he would have wanted to in recent times, he is still a difference maker on his day.
Lionel Messi will play slightly behind Lautaro Martinez. Messi was nowhere near his best in Argentina's 3-1 win over Venezuela and will look to assert himself here. The likes of Paulo Dybala, Joaquin Correa, Papu Gomez and Angel Correa will all be on the bench as additional options in attack.
Lautaro Martinez will lead the line once again. The Inter Milan striker is growing into a dependable goalscorer and he was the one who opened the scoring for Argentina against Venezuela. In fact, he was involved in all three of Argentina's goals.
Martinez provided the assist for Argentina's second goal of the game against Venezuela, which was scored by Joaquin Correa. Angel Correa's 74th minute strike came off a rebound from one of Martinez's strikes as well.
The 24-year-old was linked heavily with Tottenham Hotspur in the summer but is now all set to sign an extension with Inter Milan. On being asked whether Martinez has put pen to paper on a new deal with the Nerazzurri, his agent Camano said:
“Not yet, we are working on it with Inter, everything is going well. It is not yet completed, there are details left before the deal can be closed. The will is to move forward together, the important thing is that Lautaro is very happy at Inter.”
