Argentina vs Austria Predictions
Argentina made an impressive start to their World Cup campaign and should have enough quality to secure another three points on Monday.
I fancy the world champions to win, Leo Messi to score, and at least two Argentine goals.
Argentina Expected to Maintain Winning Form
- Argentina won 13 of their last 15 matches
- Argentina scored 2+ goals in their last 7 wins
- Argentina's Lionel Messi has scored 8 goals in his last 5 appearances (World Cup)
Argentina and Austria Set For First-Ever Competitive Contest
Argentina and Austria will meet for the first time since 1990. Monday’s World Cup fixture marks the first-ever competitive encounter between these nations.
Argentina Ease Past Algeria
Argentina began their World Cup campaign with an impressive 3-0 win against African qualifiers Algeria last week.
The irrepressible and seemingly ageless Lionel Messi stole the show with a sensational hat-trick to move level with Miroslav Klose as the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Set to turn 39 later this month, the Inter Miami forward rolled back the years to score his first-ever World Cup hat-trick.
The world champions rarely looked troubled as they secured all three points with a polished display. Lionel Scaloni's dominant side conceded an xG of only 0.3 in their straightforward victory.
The Albiceleste have been in excellent form ahead of the defence of their title. Argentina have won each of their last eight internationals since October last year. Messi’s men averaged exactly three goals per game scored in those victories.
Austria Make Winning Start
Austria arrive in Los Angeles after opening their campaign with a hard-earned 3-1 victory against Jordan. Veteran forward Marko Arnautovic secured three points with a penalty deep in stoppage time.
The European qualifiers struggled to assert their authority in an evenly balanced contest. Both teams registered 11 shots, with Austria narrowly edging the xG totals by 1.69 to 1.15.
Ralf Rangnick's side achieved a little piece of Austrian history, with their first World Cup win since 1982 ending an eight-match winless run in the competition.
The Austrians have enjoyed a strong period of form over the past year or so. Die Rot-Weis-Roten won 11 and lost only one of their last 13 international fixtures.
While Austria's recent record is impressive, South Korea are the highest-ranked nation they have beaten in the past 12 months.
Squads and Team News
Argentina Squad
Goalkeepers: Juan Musso, Geronimo Rulli, Emiliano Martinez
Defenders: Marcos Senesi, Nicolas Tagliafico, Gonzalo Montiel, Lisandro Martinez, Valentin Barco, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Facundo Medina, Nahuel Molina
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Thiago Almada, Nico Paz, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez
Forwards: Julian Alvarez, Lionel Messi, Nicolas Gonzalez, Giuliano Simeone, Jose Manuel Lopez, Lautaro Martinez
Argentina have no major injury concerns ahead of Monday's fixture. Head coach Lionel Scaloni is expected to retain confidence in much of the side that comfortably defeated Algeria.
Captain Lionel Messi is likely to lead the attack once again, while Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez are both pushing to join the veteran in the forward line.
Despite the comfortable win, Argentina boss Scaloni warned against complacency as the defending champions chase another deep run in the competition.
"This team knows that anyone can beat us," Scaloni added. "If you become overconfident, any opponent can punish you. Strange and difficult things are happening at this World Cup. If we do things right, we will be very difficult to beat."
Austria Squad
Goalkeepers: Alexander Schlager, Florian Wiegele, Patrick Pentz
Defenders: David Affengruber, Kevin Danso, Stefan Posch, David Alaba, Philipp Lienhart, Phillipp Mwene, Alexander Prass, Marco Friedl, Michael Svoboda
Midfielders: Xaver Schlager, Nicolas Seiwald, Marcel Sabitzer, Florian Grillitsch, Carney Chukwuemeka, Romano Schmid, Dejan Ljubicic, Konrad Laimer, Patrick Wimmer, Paul Wanner, Alessandro Schopf
Forwards: Marko Arnautovic, Michael Gregoritsch, Sasa Kalajdzic
Austria have one injury worry for Monday’s Group J contest. Stefan Posch, who is struggling with a broken jaw, could miss out. Konrad Laimer is a likely replacement if the experienced defender is unavailable.
Nicolas Seiwald and Xaver Schlager are expected to keep their places, while Marko Arnautovic is pushing for a recall after replacing Sasa Kalajdzic at half-time in the win against Jordan.