Internationals 
/ Tobias Gourlay / 08 February 2011 / Leave a Comment 
I Believe in Meireles: The Liverpool midfielder has scored four times already this year.
"Meireles has scored four times in his last five Premier League appearances."
Tobias Gourlay explains why you should look beyond Ronaldo and Messi for your value bet on Wednesday's big match in Geneva.
Cristiano Ronaldo versus Lionel Messi. The first meeting of Portugal and Argentina since 1972. What a momentous occasion this could have been. If only it wasn't a friendly being played in Switzerland. Expect more neutrals than partisans in Geneva on Wednesday night.
Messi might be injured too. With Aguero, Tevez and Higuain already missing, this will only encourage Argentina's coach, Sergio Batista, to use another one of his fringe players. That's usually the point of friendlies these days, but this one was supposed to be a money-spinner.
At least Paulo Bento's playing ball. The Portugal coach has chosen Ronaldo, Nani and even Ricardo Quaresma in his squad. Bento has won his first three games in charge and might exploit the good club form of Liverpool's Raul Meireles in this match.
Meireles has scored four times in his last five Premier League appearances. The international scoring records of Messi and Ronaldo are not as good as you might think and, if he starts, Meireles will be a more appealing bet in the To Score market at [8.0] or more.
Argentina only conceded twice in seven friendlies in 2010. Remember, though, that Diego Maradona, who liked to play up to four centre-backs in the same team, was in charge for most of those games. Batista's tactical plan is not yet fully developed.
While that is the case - and while he is up against another novice coach - bettors should be cautious, especially over friendlies in which he has said he will be experimenting. Portugal look much better value at [3.25] than Argentina at [2.46], if you must get involved in Match Odds betting.
Best Bet: Back Raul Meireles To Score at [8.0]
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