The South American rivals meet in Riyadh, with Messi set for his first international appearance since being sent off in the Copa America’s third-place play-off against Chile in July.

The Barcelona forward, 32, was later handed a three-month ban for saying the tournament was “corrupt”.

Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz could make his senior debut for Brazil.

Neymar remains out after the Paris St-Germain forward injured a hamstring in Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Nigeria on 13 October, but Gabriel Jesus is in their squad.

“It is always good to play a match of this magnitude – Brazil and Argentina is the greatest soccer classic,” the Manchester City striker said.

This is the first meeting between the two nations since Brazil beat Argentina 2-0 in the Copa America semi-finals.

They went on to win the final on home soil, with Jesus scoring in a 3-1 victory over Peru before being sent off for a second yellow card.

The 22-year-old has now served the two-month ban he received for remonstrating with the referee before punching a dugout and pushing VAR equipment.

Brazil have failed to win in four games since, losing 1-0 to Peru in September, while Argentina have gone four unbeaten during Messi’s ban, beating Ecuador 6-1 last month.

Jesus could face Manchester City team-mates Sergio Aguero and Nicolas Otamendi.

“I talked to Otamendi, I was joking with him – I said if he bumped me I would give it back!” he added.

“When we are together in the club, we all swim in the same direction. Now I defend my country, and they their own country. Let them do their best, but there is rivalry.”

Argentina are due to face Uruguay in Tel Aviv on Monday (19:15 GMT) but the game could be cancelled due to fighting in Israel.

Brazil are set to play South Korea in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday (13:30 GMT), which will be their last game before Conmebol’s 2022 World Cup qualifiers begin in March.