Argentina vs Algeria Betting Tips and Stats

I think Enzo Fernandez looks worth backing to either score or assist against Algeria in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The all-action Argentine midfielder arrives at the World Cup on the back of arguably the best season of his career at club level. Fernandez produced a quietly impressive return of 15 goals and 7 assists across 54 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions.

While his international numbers do not quite match those figures, they remain more than respectable, with Fernandez contributing 12 goal involvements in 42 appearances for Argentina.

Notably, he scored once and provided an assist in Argentina’s 4-1 demolition of Brazil during World Cup qualifying last year. He also got on the scoresheet in one of Argentina’s final four friendly matches before the tournament, finding the net against Mauritania.

Algeria could prove stubborn opponents, so it would not be surprising if it takes a moment of quality from Fernandez to make the difference, whether that comes from a strike from distance or a well-timed run into the box.

I’m also keen to back the aforementioned Fernandez to be fouled at least twice.

The 25-year-old always relishes the physical side of the midfield battle, reflected in the fact he drew an average of 1.98 fouls per game during Argentina’s World Cup qualifying campaign. That trend carried into friendly fixtures this year, with Fernandez winning an average of 2.22 free-kicks per 90 across the 4 matches he has featured in.

The case is further strengthened by his domestic numbers last season, with the Chelsea midfielder winning 1.30 fouls per 90 in the Premier League. That figure, however, rose sharply to 2.29 per game on Champions League duty.

He is likely to come up against Algeria duo Hicham Boudaoui and Nabil Bentaleb, both of whom averaged around 1 foul per game for their respective clubs last season. With Fernandez expected to see plenty of the ball and drive through midfield, both Boudaoui and Bentaleb should be kept busy trying to contain him throughout this contest.

Even at the age of 35, Riyad Mahrez remains a key performer for the Algerian national team. He will certainly offer plenty of attacking threat during this contest and looks worth backing to attempt two or more shots. Mahrez scored in one of Algeria’s four friendly fixtures in the lead-up to the tournament, meaning he boasts a return of 38 goals in 115 appearances for his country.

Moreover, Mahrez was well known for being a serial shot-taker during his time in the Premier League with both Leicester and Manchester City. That tendency has not gone away, as he averaged 2.04 shots per game across Algeria’s friendly fixtures this calendar year. On top of that, Mahrez registered at least 2 shots in 2 of his 4 appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year.

Further encouragement for this selection comes from the fact that Mahrez tends to take responsibility for free-kicks within shooting range, and he is also Algeria’s designated penalty taker.