Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Asia Cup match between Bahrain and Malaysia, including predictions, team news, expected lineups, and more.
For the first time in their history, bahrain and Malaysia makes a right angle asia cup The group matches will take place on Saturday at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
In the first round, Bahrain lost to South Korea 3-1 and Malaysia lost to Jordan 0-4, so each team entered this tournament with a loss.
match preview
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South Korea looked dangerous at times on Monday, but as it turned out, South Korea was too strong for Bahrain. Bahrain lost in the first group stage match of this tournament for the first time since 2015 (losing 2-0 against Iran).
Juan Antonio PizziThe team only had 29% possession and two shots on target, so the fact that they were even with a good Korean team for even five minutes is a positive sign for them going forward.
The Bahraini player comes into this tournament having lost three games in a row in all competitions and having scored just one goal in that period.
If they lose on Saturday, it will be the first time Bahrain have lost three in a row in the same year since 2012, when they last lost four in a row.
Bahrain have won their last three games by scoring first, but have not conceded in any of them.
They have won the last three meetings against Malaysia, conceding only once in that period, and have not lost in the last five matches against Malaysia in the Asian Cup qualifiers.
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After a wait of more than 16 years, Malaysia returned to the Asia Cup group stage this week, but it was far from a memorable return as Malayan Tigers suffered their worst competitive defeat since 2021.
That year, Malaysia lost 4-0 to Jordan and a few days later lost 5-1 to Uzbekistan, the last time the team lost consecutive games in the same calendar year.
In their first match, Kim PangongThe team struggled against Jordan’s high intensity, conceding three goals in the first 32 minutes, and were unable to find the back of the net for the first time since October 2023 (2-0 loss against Tajikistan).
It has been more than 44 years since the last time they won in the group stages of this competition, following a 2-0 win against the United Arab Emirates in 1980.
Despite a poor start to the tournament, Malaysia have put in an overall solid performance so far, having lost just one of their last 11 matches before Monday’s match.
The last time we beat Bahrain was back in September 1978, when we won 2-1 in the Presidents Cup that year, but we wasted every second in our last encounter to end that slump. However, -half advantage and 2-1 loss in June 2022
Bahrain Asian Cup form:
Bahrain form (all competitions):
Malaysia Asia Cup Format:
Malaysian form (all competitions):
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team news
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Amin Benadi The Bahrain center back is doubtful for this match after being injured and forced to leave the pitch on a stretcher at half-time against South Korea. Said Bakel take his place.
Two changes have been made to Bahrain, who begin their friendly against Australia at 11am on Monday. Mohamed Marhoun and Haza Ali join instead abdullah al karashi and Jassim Helife.
abdullah al hashisash He scored his only goal for Bahrain in the first round of the tournament, but it was only the second goal of his international career.
Malaysia was missing endrik In the first encounter, he sustained an apparent injury to his leg; Lavelle Corbin Ong He played the full 90 minutes despite suffering from similar issues previously.
captain Matthew Davis If he plays in the final two games of the group stage, he could reach half a century of international caps. Akhyar Rashid There are three more to reach the same mark. Romel Morales He made his first appearance for the first team on Monday.
Safawi Rashid can go beyond Wong Chun Wah and Tanabaran Nadarajah The Terengganu striker has scored 20 goals for the national team and if he scores this weekend he will move into seventh place on the all-time goals list.
Bahrain’s projected starting lineup:
Lutfala. Adel, Bakel, Al-Khayyam, Ali. Keraif, Al-Khadan, Atedeh, Marhoun.Helal, Al Humaidan
Malaysia’s expected starting lineup:
Hazmi; Davis, Erdostal, Kuels. Third, Fazail, Wilkin, Sumare.Rashid, Roku, Morales
We say: Bahrain 2-0 Malaysia
Malaysia look vulnerable at the back end and could understandably be vulnerable after what happened in the opener and I think that will work in Bahrain’s favor.
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top tip
Sporita.com’s expert tipster partners predict over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they’re predicting for this match and to find out more of their tried-and-true football tips.2.5 or higher: data