An exciting 90 minutes in prospect but it is a match I expect Argentina to win comfortably and they should have no trouble progressing to the last eight.
It won’t get any easier for Argentina, with Germany or England potential quarterfinal opponents, but I suspect they fear nobody and the 1986 winners are tipped to triumph in style.
Having eased past South Korea, Nigeria and Greece in Group B, conceding just one goal in three matches, Argentina are now considered among the tournament favourites with Brazil and Spain and it’s hard to argue with that.
Diego Maradona, the Argentina manager, has been an inspiration to his players at these finals and any concerns regarding his tactical ineptness have so far been wide of the mark.
Gonzalo Higuain currently leads the goal scoring charts for Argentina with three to his name, all coming versus South Korea in a 4-1 romp, but predictably it is Lionel Messi that has been the star of the show and he’s tipped to shine once again on Sunday.
Mexico impressed themselves during the first round of matches but while they found it easy to unlock a hapless French defence in Group A, I remain unconvinced about them overall as an attacking force.
Mexico play plenty of attractive football without hurting their opponents but they lack a focal point in attack and Argentina certainly wont let Javier Aguirre’s side off the hook.
Argentina are around 1.50 shots to triumph inside 90 minutes but it can pay to be bolder and at bigger odds I like the look of them to win without conceding.
Despite fitness concerns over Walter Samuel, Argentina have superb strength in depth and nullifying the Mexican threat should not prove a problem.
2pts Back Argentina to win to nil (vs. Mexico) @ 2.38 Ladbrokes