Our World Cup coverage moves onto Group F now as we cast an eye over one of the favourites for this summer’s tournament, Argentina. Alejandro Sabella’s side kick off their campaign against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday June 15 at 11pm before facing a couple of opponents that are likely to earn them plenty of Fantasy investment – a showdown with Iran on Saturday June 21 at 5pm is followed by a game against Nigeria four days later at 5pm:
Road to Qualification
Sabella’s side cruised through the CONMEBOL group, winning nine and drawing five of their 16 fixtures. Finishing two points clear of Colombia at the summit, they scored more goals (35) than any other South American country during the qualifying period and with 15 goals against, boasted the second most impressive backline. After losing their second match to Venezuela, Argentina then embarked on a two-year unbeaten run in the group before tasting defeat at the hands of Uruguay in their final fixture – by then, though, they had already booked their place in next month’s tournament and fielded a number of squad players in the 3-2 loss.
Most Starts Sergio Romero (14), Angel Di Maria, Lionel Messi (12), Pablo Zabaleta, Gonzalo Higuain, Javier Mascherano, Federico Fernandez (11), Ezequiel Garay, Marcos Rojo (9), Fernando Gago (8), Sergio Aguero (7)
Most Goals Lionel Messi (10), Gonzalo Higuain (9), Sergio Aguero (5), Angel Di Maria, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Maxi Rodriguez (3)
The Key Targets
The South Americans’ form has been patchy over the last few friendlies. Goalless draws with Nigeria and Romania bookend a 2-0 win over upcoming opponents Bosnia back in November, where Sabella shifted away from his preferred 4-3-3 formation and rolled out a 5-3-2 set-up, with Sergio Aguero grabbing both goals.
In defence, Pablo Zabaleta and Marcos Rojo (priced at 6.1 and 5.8 in FantasyiTeam) are the regulars at right-back and left-back respectively. The latter is utilised as a centre-half by club Sporting Lisbon and notched four times in the league last season, and whilst Sabella’s counter-attacking approach restricts the full-backs attacking duties, Zabaleta is perhaps the likeliest of the two to forage forward due to Lionel Messi’s tendency to drift from his starting position on the right of the front three.
Ezequiel Garay and Federico Fernandez are the first-choice centre-half pairing in a four-man backline, though Sabella occasionally used five at the back for tricky away ties, bringing in the likes of Hugo Campagnero or shifting Javier Mascherano out of midfield into defence. Garay, at 5.9 in FantasyiTeam, scored six times for his club Benfica last term and carries a strong attacking threat.
Along with Mascherano, Angel Di Maria (7.2 in in FantasyiTeam) and Fernando Gago (priced at just 5.7) make up the central midfield three – the latter is fielded on the right, with his distribution to Messi further up the pitch key to quick transitions. Gago is still struggling with a knee injury sustained last month, however, whilst the Real Madrid man arrives on the back of an excellent campaign – he produced 17 assists and four goals in a similar role for Carlo Ancelotti’s Champions League winners.
Having scored 28, 17 and 17 goals for their respective clubs in the 2013/14 league season, Lionel Messi Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero all offer Fantasy managers strong options for the group stages. Messi is afforded the freedom to roam from the right and also has spot-kick duties to further his appeal – 10 goals in 12 starts over the qualifiers are indicative of his recent form for Sabella’s side. Higuain is the most advanced of the three and is fielded through the middle, with Aguero positioned on the left of the front trio – those two set you back 9.7 and 10.3 in FantasyiTeam, with Messi the most expensive at10.7.
The Long Shots
If Gago fails to fully recover from his ongoing knee problem, Ever Banega looks the likeliest to benefit. Available for 5.3 in FantasyiTeam, he started four of the last six qualifiers and, looked upon as an able deputy by Sabella, could sneak under the radar.
Up front,Ezequiel Lavezzi is far from certain to start but, as FPL managers know too well, Aguero’s tendency to pick up injuries is a very common occurrence. A role on the left of the front three would suit the PSG frontman and if Sabella chooses to manage the City man’s minutes, Lavezzi – classified as a midfielder in in FantasyiTeam and priced at 7.1 – could thrive in the latter parts of matches against tiring defences.
Further Analysis
Group A – Brazil,Cameroon, Croatia, Mexico
Group B – Australia, Chile, Holland, Spain
Group C – Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan
Group D – Costa Rica, England, Italy, Uruguay
Group E – Ecuador, France, Honduras, Switzerland
Fantasy iTeam
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Click here for details and here to sign up.
Our League name is Fantasy Football Scout and the pin is 4915.
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