Manuel Chávez
Dailysports's expert
In full swing now is the Cup of Nations Persian flood, here comes to the end of the group round. I offer my prediction for the match Kuwait - Qatar, is there a chance to see a productive soccer?
Kuwait
Kuwait is playing well at home tournament so far, gaining 4 points in two meetings, the team shares the lead in the group, having a good chance to reach the semifinals.
The team started with a draw against Oman - 1:1, the result is fair, the rivals exchanged goals in the first half. In the second match against the UAE, the Kuwaiti team was considered an underdog, but managed to create a sensation, snatching a 2-1 victory by scoring the winning goal in the 89th minute.
The Kuwaitis are making full use of the factor of their arena at this tournament, and now it is enough for them not to lose in the last round to make the playoffs. The status of underdogs should not embarrass the players, they will be supported by the crowd.
Qatar
This tournament is hard for the Qatar national team, which was able to score only one point in two meetings. In the first one they played 1:1 against UAE, and played a weak match, as the opponent looked better.
In the second match, the team managed to open the score against Oman in the 2nd minute, but it did not help to score even one point, defeat with the score 1:2. The position is now difficult, as Qatar shares the third line in the quartet, however, to get into the playoffs is still realistic, for this you need to at least win in the upcoming match, preferably to do it as confidently as possible.
Possible line-ups:
- Kuwait: Al Rashini, Al Enezi, Khader, Hajiya, Al Hajeri, Al Enezi, Al Dhafiri, Daham, Khalaf, Mayed, Nasser.
- Qatar: Barsham, Yousif, Al Hussain, Lucas Mendes, Al Brak, Fathi, Afif, Al Hassan, Abdulsallam, Hamza, Ali.
Facts about the match
- Kuwait have won only one meeting out of the last 11.
- In the last five matches, Qatar has won one victory.
- This is how the quotes for the upcoming battle look like: P1 - 3.9, X - 3.35, P2 - 1.89.
H2H
Statistics show that the rivals have a rich history of face-to-face confrontations. The last time the teams crossed paths in March this year, within the framework of qualification for the World Cup, then Qatar won at home 3:0, and then also away 2:1.
Prediction
In this pair, the Qatar national team is considered the favorite, but Kuwait is now clearly on the spur of the moment, in addition should help and the factor of their arena. I expect a difficult, but not the most spectacular match, I suggest betting on the total of less than 2.5 goals.
