Argentina vs. Australia Betting Tips: Two punts for Saturday's 7pm last-16 tie

Group C winners Argentina take on surprise last-16 entrants Australia in Saturday evening's 7pm knockout game.

@wizard_season takes his first of two match previews this weekend, where he's provided a pair of best bets for this exciting David vs Goliath footballing clash.

Live on BBC, Argentina go up against Australia in this Round of 16 fixture of the World Cup at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium this Saturday. Lionel Scaloni’s men lost their opening fixture to Saudi Arabia in the biggest upset of the World Cup but bounced back with two consecutive wins against Mexico and Poland to qualify for the round of 16 stage.

Lionel Messi’s dream of winning the World Cup is still alive as they go up against an Australia side who knocked out Denmark to reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2006.

They started off their World Cup campaign with a 4-1 loss to France but wins against Tunisia and Denmark mean they finished runners up in the group on goal difference, having achieved the same number of points as the World Champions France.

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The Socceroos will come into this game as massive underdogs but considering how unpredictable this World Cup has been, no underdog can be underestimated. Argentina will have to be at their best to progress to the quarter finals of the World Cup.

A massive World Cup clash awaits us and as usual, I have you covered with two of my best betting angles included below:

Team News:

Both Argentina and Australia have fully fit squads for this game.

Argentina possible starting lineup:

E. Martinez; Molina, Otamendi, Romero, Tagliafico; Mac Allister, Fernandez, De Paul; Alvarez, Messi, Di Maria

Australia possible starting lineup:

Ryan; Karacic, Souttar, Rowles, Behich; Mooy; Leckie, Irvine, McGree, Goodwin; Duke

- Over 0 goals in the 2nd half for Argentina

- Over 0 cards in the 2nd half for Australia

- Over 3 corners in the match for Argentina

- Over 0 offsides in the match for Argentina

Argentina have scored 5 goals so far in their World Cup campaign and 4 of those have been scored in the 2nd half. In the last 2 games against Mexico and Poland, both their goals came in the final 45 minutes.

Australia have received 5 yellow cards so far in the World Cup and 4 of those have come in the 2nd half. With Argentina most likely leading, the Australian players will be expected to make cynical fouls on the counter, especially in the 2nd half and should be able to pick up at least one booking.

As for the corners, they are averaging 7.33 corners per game in this World Cup, getting at least 4 corners in all 3 group stage games. Considering this is expected to be one way traffic, backing Argentina to rack up at least 4 corners makes perfect sense.

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Finally, Australia’s opponents have been caught offside 6 times in the World Cup so far and Argentina’s attack is averaging 4.33 offsides per game. With this likely being Argentina’s attack vs Australia’s defence, we should comfortably see Argentina getting caught offside at least once.

Combining these 4 selections gives us a solid bet builder @ 4/5 and I am happy to stake 1pt on that as our main bet for this game.

Alexis Mac Allister is playing further forward in the midfield with Enzo Fernandez and De Paul focusing more on the defensive duties. He scored Argentina’s opening goal in the decisive game against Poland and also had another big chance to double his goals tally. With the likes of Messi and Di Maria pulling the strings, I can see him getting into the final third and scoring another goal here.

Argentina are averaging 7.33 corners per game and with one-way traffic expected, it makes sense to add the “Over 6.5 Argentina corners” selection to this bet to bump up the odds to 7/1 for the double. Will have a small 0.25pt stake on that as our 2nd bet for this game.

Best of luck if you follow these selections. Please always gamble responsibly.

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