David Flower
Dailysports's expert
Betting Bonus up to $/€ 122
The opening match of the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers will be played in India, where the local national team will host Bangladesh. I suggest a bet on the outcome of this clash with good chances of success.
Match preview
The "Indian Elephants" did not meet expectations at the Asian Cup, where they failed to earn a single point, losing to Australia (0-2), Uzbekistan (0-3), and Syria (0-1). After the continental tournament setback, the team focused on qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, where they showed decent results in the first five rounds, occupying second place in the group, trailing only Qatar.
However, a setback in the last away match against Qatar (1-2) deprived the Indian team of chances to continue competing for top spots, and they finished the qualification in the last position. In the autumn, the team played four friendly matches but could not improve their form. First, the Indians lost to Syria at home (0-3), then drew with Mauritius (0-0), Vietnam (1-1), and Malaysia (1-1). Last week, India defeated the Maldives 3-0.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh national team also failed to show a worthy result in the second stage of World Cup qualification. In six matches, the team managed to secure points in only one encounter, losing five games. The overall goal tally is more than telling - 1:20.
In the autumn, Bangladesh played four friendly matches, managing to defeat Bhutan away with a score of 1-0, as well as the Maldives on their home turf – 2-1. However, in the rematches, Bangladesh could not prove their strength and lost to the same opponents with an identical score of 0-1.
Probable lineups
- India: Sandhu, Singh, Ali, Jhingan, Bheke, Choudhary, Fernandes, Appiah, Changte, Yadav
- Bangladesh: Marma, Fausal, Hossain, Barman, Kazi, Uddin, Rana, Ridoy, Bhuyan, Morsalin, Hossain
Match facts and head-to-head
- India has beaten the opponent only once in five matches, not losing a single time
- The "Both teams to score" bet came through in 4 out of 5 matches
- The "Total over 2.5" bet came through in one out of five matches
Prediction
Bookmakers offer odds of 1.45 for India's victory. We believe that the bookmakers overestimate the hosts' chances here. It's better to take "Total under 3.0" with odds of 1.65.
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