ARGENTINA v SERBIA & MONTENEGRO - MATCH PREVIEW I
Andy Morgan
The Serbians were weak against Holland on Sunday and it is hard to see
anything other than an Argentinian win here.
The South Americans were
electric against the Ivory Coast and arguably should have won more
comfortably than the 2-1 margin suggests. They were asked questions by
the
African side however and, although defensively Argentina looked a
little
suspect their attack more than made up for it.
Hernan Crepso needs no introduction. Scorer of Argentina's opening goal
of
this World Cup campaign, the Chelsea front man's goal ratio is one in
every
two. It would be a very brave man to back against him scoring today.
The
major news on the striking front however is the return of Lionel Messi,
albeit on the bench. The Barcelona teenager who is already been touted
as
the Argentinian Wayne Rooney by the British Press has recovered from a
foot
injury (see the link?!) and may feature at some point today depending
on
circumstances.
Argentina, like Holland, will be hoping to win this game
so
as little as possible rests on the meeting between the two in Frankfurt on Wednesday.
Of the strikers however, Sevilla's Javier Saviola is the best bet to
take.
Scorer of the second goal against the Ivory Coast he is now into double
figures for his country and his confidence is sky high. If the midfield
can
work the ball as well as they did against the Ivory Coast then another
goal
for him is likely to be on the cards.
Another good bet is the man who
set
Saviola up on Sunday, Juan Roman Riquelme. Very much the lynchpin of
the
Argentinian team, he has chalked up eight goals and is a threat on
free-kicks. His technique and poise is also something to be commended
and
having terrorised Everton, Arsenal and Manchester United when playing
against them for Villareal this season, big things are expected of him
in
his homeland.
Serbia were disappointing against Holland and need to pick up quickly
if
they wish to qualify for the knock-out stages. They have only failed to
do
this twice in nine World Cups - in 1950 and 1982. Serbia and Montenegro
topped their qualifying group and only conceded one goal en route to
Germany. They also pipped Spain to that automatic promotion spot.
However in
this competition they are in danger of following another Eastern
European
side, Poland, in flattering to deceive when it really matters. However
few
gave them any chance of qualifying so when the chips are down expect
them to
deliver and they could spring a surprise here.
Serbia's defence is the strongest part of their game, with centre-backs
Mladen Krstajic and Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic forming a tight
partnership. However the latter has been forced out of the tournament
with
damaged knee ligaments and this is a big blow to the Eastern European's
aspirations.
Up front it is hard to miss Nikola Zigic, who at 6ft 8in is towering.
However he is not the most prolific striker and the smart money will be
on
Inter Milan's midfielder Dejan Stankovic or Partisan's Zvonimir Vukic
who
have popped up with crucial goals from the middle of the park. Serbia's
strikers meanwhile are two players who enjoyed little success in
England but
have flourished elsewhere - Savo Milosevic and Mateja Kezman. Whether
this
strikeforce is good enough to crack the solid Argentinian backline
remains
to be seen.
Here's a selection of the odds available from Total Bet. There are plenty more on the
match coupon.
Argentina 4/9
Draw 14/5
Serbia & Montenegro 15/2
Argentina 1-0 5/1
Argentina 2-0 11/2
Argentina 2-1 13/2
Argentina 3-0 10/1
Hernan Crespo 4/1
Javier Saviola 11/2
Carlos Tevez 6/1
Julio Cruz 13/2
Juan Roman Riquelme 7/1
Lionel Messi 7/1
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