This fixture hasn’t been one known to produce many goals of late. In fact, only one of the last 10 meetings has seen three goals or more (Brazil 3-0 in 2016). The last time Argentina faced Brazil at home was back in 2021, with that game finishing 0-0. The last time these two sides met was at the Maracana in Brazil, where Nicolas Otamendi’s second half header saw Scaloni’s side come out on top 1-0.

With no Lionel Messi or Lautaro Martinez, Argentina’s usual flow may be stifled, while Brazil will be looking to adopt a more defensive display in Buenos Aires. If they go toe-to-toe with Argentina, there’s only one winner.

With Argentina set to dominate possession at home once more, Brazil will have plenty of defending to do. The hosts aren’t known for picking up cards at home. They didn’t pick up any against Peru or Bolivia, while they were only awarded two against Chile. Nicolas Gonzalez was the only player booked in their 1-0 home win against Ecuador, and the Juventus striker is suspended for this match after his red against Uruguay last week.

Brazil, on the other hand, have a habit of collecting cards. They picked up three against each of Colombia and Uruguay in their most recent outings – more than their opponents in both games. On their travels, they picked up two against Chile and Paraguay, and in their most recent clash against Argentina, they finished with three yellow cards and a red, while Scaloni’s side walked away with zero.

If Argentina are to dominate the tie, it’s likely they will once again earn more corners than their opponents. Of their six home matches to date, they’ve only failed to win one corner count and that came against Chile when they were comfortably ahead (4-4).

Dorival Junior is set to line up with a more defensive formation than what his side are normally used to, and that could cause them problems moving away from their usual attacking style. However, the head coach will know taking the game to Argentina could prove costly, and instead his team will tuck in and hope to put in a top defensive display.

The longer the game stays 0-0, the more likely we will see Argentina’s corner count will rise.