Italy aim to notch up their second win in a row over Argentina when the sides meet at Genoa's Luigi Ferraris stadium today.

The Azzurri grabbed an historic 30-29 victory in Cordoba in June, their first away win over the Pumas, to draw the series 1-1 and will do all they can to maintain their superiority over a team ranked eighth in the world, three places above them.

Both sides come into the match off the back of morale-boosting wins. Italy's backline, so often the poor relation of their pack, showed rare invention as the team ran seven tries past Tonga in a 48-0 rout last weekend.

Argentina on the same day dug deep to come from behind and beat Scotland 23-19 in a bruising encounter at Murrayfield, their fifth successive victory over the Scots.

Pumas captain Agustin Pichot, who wins his 58th cap, said he and his team-mates expected today's game to be just as tough.

"The Azzurri and the Pumas are at the same level - we're both trying to grow and both trying to gain more attention on the international stage," he said. "The match in Genoa is an important moment for both sides."

Pichot singled out flankers Mauro Bergamasco and Sergio Parisse and winger Mirco Bergamasco, who scored two tries against Tonga, as Italy's most dangerous players.

Argentina coach Marcelo Loffreda has named his third outhalf in as many games, moving Juan Martin Hernandez into the position from the fullback spot he occupied against the Scots and dropping Federico Todeschini.

Gonzalo Tiesi starts as outside centre, replacing Manuel Contepomi, who fractured his hand at Murrayfield. In the pack, secondrow Santiago Sanz replaces Martin Schusterman.

Italy are unchanged from the Tonga game.