The two Manchester City stars go head to head in Rio tomorrow just six weeks after lifting the Premier League title together.
But their friendship will be thrown out of the window at the Maracana as Argentina begin their quest for World Cup glory.
Zabaleta knows the City hitman will cause plenty of problems for a Bosnia side who have nothing to lose.
He said: "Of course we spoke about this match at the end of the season when the squads were announced.
"But since I have been in Brazil, we haven't spoken. I need to concentrate on what we have to do.
"Of course I know what type of player he is, but we have to look at Bosnia as a team and not just one individual.
"The way Croatia played against Brazil showed that the teams from Europe can cause the South American teams real problems.
"We know we are really going to have to play well to win. We need to make a good start in the group."