Argentina and Brazil in Copa America two-horse canter

THE 43rd edition of the Copa America, which kicked off on Friday, promises to be another battle for continental supremacy between powerhouses Argentina and Brazil, with 10 other nations assigned bit-part roles.

Argentina, the host nation, are 95-100 bookies' favourites to lift the cup for the first time in 18 years and break mighty Brazil's stranglehold.

The yellow-shirted ones, 2-1 second favourites, have come out victorious in four of the past five tournaments, beating their old foes in the finals of the last two.

Besides their home advantage, Argentina are also favoured for their talented squad, which is spearheaded by the incomparable Lionel Messi.

The Barcelona-bred little maestro is capable of causing havoc in any defence but has often been criticised for his performances in the blue-and-white stripes of his country. He will be out to prove his doubters wrong.

With Argentina having shed another footballing genius in former manager Diego Maradona after last year's World Cup, new coach Sergio Batista heads into his first major competition and will be desperate to make a big impression.

Indeed, since taking the reins, his side has beaten world champions Spain 4-1.

Batista has also reversed Maradona's controversial selection policies and reinstated stars such as Javier Zanetti to the team.

And with other talents such as Benfica's Ezequiel Garay, Roma's Nicolas Burdisso, Barcelona's Gabriel Milito and Manchester City's Pablo Zabaleta, Argentina seem to hold an irresistible hand.

But Brazil, of course, always seem to have a conveyor belt delivering great footballers and they will want to prove their failure when favourites in the World Cup was due more to the unexpectedly brutal tactics of Holland than their own inefficiency.

Like Argentina, Brazil fired their manager, Dunga, directly after their return from South Africa and appointed Mano Menezes, who also faces his first major test.

With stars such as Julio Cesar, Danny Alves, Maicon and Chelsea's exciting - and sometimes maligned for his attacking instincts - David Luiz in defence, the quality is obvious.

And though Brazil seem rather short in midfield, the likes of Ramires and Elano won't frighten Argentina. Santos striker Neymar, 19, who has the football world abuzz will attract lots of attention from spectators and opponents. Catch him today against Venezuela, a match for which Brazil are at 1-8.

He will be backed up by the AC Milan pair of Robinho and young Alexandre Pato.

Outside of the two giants, Uruguay, with Liverpool's sensational Luis Suarez and World Cup Golden Ball winner Diego Forlan spearheading the attack, will be worth watching. They are 10-1.

Chile are 16-1, with Paraguay at 33-1, Colombia at 45-1 and Mexico at 50-1. You can write your own tickets for Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru and Costa Rica, who accepted a late invitation after special invitees Japan pulled out.