The inaugural game of the 2018 World Cup Qualifying campaign in South America will feature two of the continent's traditional big teams.
Argentina fresh from their successive defeats in finals of major competitions open their campaign against Ecuador who arrive in somewhat of a state of transition after a disappointing showing in their last few tournaments.
The headlines going into the match will be the lack of Argentina's captain Lionel Messi, who after sustaining an injury for Barcelona will be absent for eight weeks and miss his country's first four qualifying matches.
In Messi's absence the Argentine attack will focus around the prodigious attacking talent of in-form Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero and the enigmatic Boca Juniors striker Carlos Tevez.
Speaking before the match Aguero has spoken of his reluctance to wear the infamous Argentina number 10 shirt, usually worn by Messi and formerly worn by the legendary attacker Diego Maradona.
Aguero told La Nacion: "I wore it for the first time against Bosnia, in a friendly in the United States, and Leo (Messi) said: 'When I am not around Kun (Aguero) has to use it.'"
"It is a bit strange because Leo has always been here with us, but these things happen in football, we have great players here and we can do well without him."
However, the Manchester City Striker was keen to reinforce the winning mentality that his side have to adopt even in Messi's absence:
"Obviously it is different without him but we can still make a good start. Messi is Messi, he is irreplaceable. But there is a great team here which can make his absence felt less sharply."
"Now the key is winning, picking up three points. We are playing at home, it is a long time since Argentina has seen us and we have to play well from the start to gain confidence."
Focus will also fall on Carlos Tevez, who will line up for the first time for Argentina, having returned to Argentina to play for his hometown club Boca Juniors.
Tevez has always endured at international level and has never been able to recapture the form that he has shown consistently at club level.
Boca fans will make the pilgrimage to the stadium of their fiercest rivals, the River Plate Stadium, in order to catch a glimpse of their hero and cheer him on to the glory they know he is capable of.
For Ecuador the gameplan against the imperious Argentine attacking line will be simple. To stifle and disrupt the Argentina midfield as much as possible and try to counter attack with pace down the flanks.
In Jefferson Montero and Antonio Avelencia, Ecuador have two lightning quick wingers who will fancy their chances against an already slow Argentina defense that is even more compromised with the injury and withdrawal of Marcos Rojo.
The journey to Russia 2018 is undoubtedly a long one and one that Argentina will be very confident in achieving, but for their opponents on Thursday, every match will count.
A positive result in Buenos Aires could be the confidence booster to the Ecuador team that could kick start their efforts to once again take their place at football's top table.
When: Thursday, October 8th
Where: River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires
Kick Off: 1900 ET
Tv Schedule: BeIN Sports USA
Live Stream: BeIN Sports Connect
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