Nigeria v Argentina preview: Will Messi save the South Americans?

Can Lionel Messi inspire Argentina to victory against Nigeria and a last-16 place? Or is even he not able to fix their current mess?

Argentina have been a shambles so far in Russia. They’ve only picked up one point from their previous two games. Now they have to beat Nigeria to have any chance of going through.

Jorge Sampaoli’s side are 8/15 to get the three points. Nigeria are 5/1 outsiders. And the draw is 16/5.

A draw could be enough to take Nigeria through if Iceland fail to beat Croatia. If you fancy them to get a result, they’re 29/20 in the Double Chance market.

As Argentina have to go for this, they’re likely to leave their unconvincing defence exposed. It’s 3/4 for Both Sides to Score and 8/5 for Over 3.5 Goals.

As underwhelming as the South American side have been, it’s hard to count out any side with Messi. He’s 4/5 to score Anytime and 3/1 to get two goals or more.

Gonzalo Higuain could come in for Sergio Aguero up front. The Juventus ace is 7/2 to open the scoring. He’s also 23/20 to score Anytime.

Ahmed Musa bagged a superb brace in the Super Eagles’ win over Iceland. He’s 14/5 to add to his tally in Volgograd.

Click here for the latest Nigeria v Argentina odds.

All Odds and Markets correct as of date of publication