Following the disastrous 6-1 away defeat to Bolivia, Argentina will attempt to get back to basics as they host Columbia in what is shaping up to be an extremely important World Cup Qualifier.Maradona - Can he take Argentina to South Africa?Diego Maradonas men are currently positioned in the final automatic qualification spot with only 6 games remaining. However, with 5th placed Uruguay breathing down their necks, Argentina need a victory to ensure their big rivals can not overtake them. Its worth mentioning that a win for Columbia will put them only within 2 points of the faltering Argies. There is quite clearly a lot at stake for both teams and the qualification picture will start to become clearer game by game.(4th) Argentina125431813+519(5th) Uruguay124532110+1117(6th) Colombia12354610?414THE SQUAD (26 players)GoalkeepersJuan Carrizo (Lazio)Federico Vilar (Atlante)Mariano Andujar (Estudiantes)Right backsJavier Zanetti (Inter Milan)Marcos Angeleri (Estudiantes)Left backsGabriel Heinze (Real Madrid)Emiliano Papa (Velez Sarsfield)Centre backsMartin Demichellis (Bayern Munich)Nicolas Burdi so (Inter Milan)Daniel Diaz (Getafe)Juan Forlin (Boca Juniors)Nicholas Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield)WingersJonas Gutierrez (Newcastle)Maxi Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid)HoldingMidfieldersFernando Gago (Real Madrid)Javier Mascherano (Liverpool)Sebastian Battaglia (Boca Juniors)Attacking MidfieldersJuan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes)Daniel Montenegro (Independiente)Christian Gimenez (Pachuca)StrikersSergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid)Lionel Me si (Barcelona)Carlos Tevez (Manchester United)Diego Milito (Genoa)Lisandro Lopez (Porto)Gonzalo Berge sio (San Lorenzo)Tevez - Will he start against Columbia?WHO WILL PLAYApart from the home clash with Columbia, Argentina also have to travel to Ecuador just several days later for a match that will be played at a high altitude just like the Bolivia game. Maradona has already stated that he will play a different type of team for that game. Therefore, it is likely that a larger number of players currently situated in South America for their club teams will play against Ecuadoras they will be more accustomed to the conditions. Since Argentina play Columbia at home, Maradona may revert back to an attack minded 3-4-3 formation that worked well against Venezuela in his first game in charge. Its worth noticing though that Columbia will offer a greater attacking threat to the Argies despite their ownpoor away form so far in the qualification campaign.At the backLazio goalkeeper Juan Carrizo is likely to continue in goal but the real questions are whether Maradona will revert to a back three or a back four in defence. In his first game in charge, Maradona, without experienced defender Martin Demichellis, played a back three with Javier Zanetti at right centre back, Gabriel Heinze at left centre back and Marcos Angeleri, known as a rampaging right back, was positioned as a sweeper. Although Venezuela were hardly world beaters, Angeleris pace helped limit any threat that the visitors posed up front.Neverthele s, for the Bolivia disaster, Maradona went for a more traditional formation and experienced personnel with Javier Zanetti at right back, Demichellis and Heinze forming the centre back combination and Emiliano Papa acquiring the left back role. Argentina have had well documented defensive problems throughout their qualification campaign and the Bolivia match really highlighted them. Demichellis and Heinze are both slow defenders and were therefore dropping deeper to give themselves the extra seconds to react to a through ball. However, this opened up the middle of the pitch for Bolivia to exploit and they picked off Argentina time and time again.With Gabriel Heinze under much criticism from his own fans and Angeleri not a traditional centre back, Maradona may have to experiment with new blood in his defence. Uncapped Boca Juniors 20 year old centre back Juan Forlin has been tipped for the top whilst 21 year old Velez Sarsfield centre back Nicolas Otamendi made an impre sive debut in the recent friendly with Panama. Both have been included in the squad and one of them may get a look in.With this billed as a must win game, Maradona is very likely to stick with former captainZanetti and experienced Demichellis in his team. If that is the case he will probably stick with a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 as a three man back line would seriously compromise Demichellis pace. It is quite po sible that Nicolas Otamendi will keep his place at the heart of the defence and then it is down to Maradona whether he decides to play the experienced but under fire Gabriel Heinze or Emiliano Papa, who played in the 6-1 defeat, at left back.Heinze - Jose Quijada Jersey Under fire but will Maradona pick him?MidfieldFor all of Argentinas defensive problems, the one strength Argentina does have is in the centre of midfield. Captain Javier Mascherano has struck up a formidable partnership with Real Madrids Fernando Gago and the two of them are very effective at protecting the back four. Unfortunately, the Argies have been without their two influential holding players as a pairing for the majority of the campaign. Neverthele s, apart from the Bolivia game, the pair have been extremely influential and have kept Esteban Cambia so out of the team and more recently the squad.On the other hand,the wing isnot currently one of Argentinas strongest areas. So much in fact that the team are normally set up very narrow in midfield which quite often sees a three man strikeforce in front of a three man midfield. Maxi Rodriguez is the most experienced of all the wingers Argentina have at their disposal and the little Atletico Madrid player is a consistent figure on the right wing. Jonas Gutierrez, who hasnt had the best of times with Newcastle, tends to play on the left when the four man midfield is deployed.A suming Maradona starts with a four man defence, the coach will most likely play with wingers and therefore will line up with Maxi Rodriguez, Mascherano, Gago and Gutierrez. The likes of Juan Sebastian Veron or the uncapped Christian Gimenez may be called upon at some stage in the playmaker/Riquelme role if Argentina are struggling to break their opponents down.Mascherano & Gago - A key pair for ArgentinaUp frontThe one thing that is fairly certain for the Columbia game is that Lionel Me si will start. Dubbed the best player in the world by many, it is felt that Maradona sees a younger version of himself in Me si. The big question is will Me si be partnered in a front two or three. A huge bonus for Argentina is that Me si is majorly effective in any forward position. More often than not for Barcelona he will play on the right of a front three and cut inside. However, he has also done the same on the left in the past so dont rule out seeing him anywhere around the frontline. If Argentina adopts a front three approach, expect to see Sergio Aguero leading the line with Me si and Carlos Tevez either side of him. If they go with a front two, then Tevez may po sibly be left out.A major talking point of the recent squad has been the omi sion of Gonzalo Higuain. The striker was top scorer for Real Madrid last season and many see him as the extra option for a strikeforce that is predominately made up of small, quick and skilful players. However, his omi sion merely confirms that it will be Me si and one or both of Tevez and Aguero as Diego Milito and Lisandro Lopez are unlikely to force their way on from the start in this crucial home game.Me si - Argentina's inspiration?My predictionI think Argentina will either go with:4-4-2Juan CarrizoZanettiDemichellisOtamendi-HeinzeMaxi RodriguezMascherano-GagoGutierrezMe si-Aguero-or3-4-3-Juan CarrizoZanettiDemichellisPapaMaxi RodriguezMascheranoGagoGutierrezMe siAgueroTevezCOLUMBIA PLAYERS TO WATCHCristian ZapataZapata - Huge potential?Udineses Cristian Zapata is the next in a line of top quality defenders that Columbia seems to produce time and time again. Following in the footsteps of the aging Mario Yepes and Ivan Cordoba, Zapata is ble sed with pace and excellent anticipation. The 22 year old was the subject of transfer speculation from Arsenal last summer and there is no doubt that the defender has a huge future in the game. Zapata has been a regular at centre back alongside Yepes in the absence of Cordoba throughout this campaign and is a major reason why Columbia have only conceded 10 goals in 12 qualifiers. Whether or not he will be able to handle Lionel Me si and co is a different question though!Ivan CordobaCordoba - Will he inspire Columbia to a huge upset?Inter Milans Ivan Cordoba is a defender with huge experience and over ten years of service to his club. Regarded as a world cla s centre back, Cordoba is only 5ft 8 and relies on his electric pace and renowned athleticism. The pint sized defender can play all acro s the defence and will be sure to feature against Argentina. This represents Cordobas first call up for two years following a falling out with the previous coach. Even though the defence, including a strong partnership between Cristian Zapata and Mario Yepes, has coped fine without him, Cordobas experience may prove invaluable when face to face with one of the worlds best strikeforce.Radamel FalcaoFalcao - Can he deliver at international level?River Plates Radamel Falcao is the current leading striker for the Columbian national team. The 23 year old has enjoyed a prolific spell with River Plate where he has scored 30 goals in 77 games. However, the striker has not quite managed to transfer that form onto the international stage as of yet. Columbia have currently failed to score in six of the last seven games and the introduction of Falcao as a starter against Brazil and Venezuela has failed to change this trend. Wigans Hugo Rodallega is currently being kept on the bench at the expense of Falcao so the River Plate striker needs to start delivering soon. Columbia are known for being extremely solid at the back. Whether or not they trouble an Argentina backline that is creaking remains to be seen.OVERALLOn the whole, this is a rather tricky match to predict as both teams clearly have problems which need to be sorted sooner rather than later if they both wish to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Argentina are ble sed with po sibly three of the most lethal strikers in world football but supporters are dubious as to whether they have enough variety going forward as all three are fairly small and rely on their pace and trickery. They will receive the ultimate test from a defence that will become even more solid with the return of Ivan Cordoba.You may start to worry for Argentinas chances at this point when you consider how fragile their defence is at present. However, they will be coming face to face with a Columbia sidethat are short on confidence, an awful recent away record and very few goals in their team. If Argentina struggle to defend against this lot then you have to wonder whether they are serious contenders for the 2010 World Cup.All in all, Argentina have the home advantage and Maradona is bound to set his team up in an attacking manner. A lot will depend on whether they are able to get the breakthrough early as the longer it stays goalle s, the more confident Columbia will get. I predict either a shock 0-0 draw or a 2-0 Argentina victory depending on whether or not the home side are able to break through in the first half of not. Caden Dana Jersey