On Tuesday, Kuwait can book a place in the Arabian Gulf Cup final for the first time since 2010 when they battle Bahrain at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium.
In the opening phase, the hosts locked up second place in their group thanks to a 1-1 draw versus Qatar, while Bahrain claimed first in Group B above Saudi Arabia despite a 2-1 defeat to Yemen.
Match preview
Some strong opening games for Bahrain propelled them into the knockout portion of this tournament for a fourth successive occasion.
However, on Saturday, they saw a three-match unbeaten run across all competitions end, suffering just two defeats in their previous seven international affairs.
Bahrain have yet to lose in 2024 when netting multiple times, dropping points in only two of their six contests this year when doing so.
Dragan Talajic has never suffered consecutive competitive defeats since taking charge of this team earlier in the year, following up a 1-0 defeat versus China in November with a 2-2 draw against Australia a few days later.
Muharabi Dilmun have not fared well at this stage of the competition in recent years, losing five of their previous six Gulf Cup semi-final fixtures.
However, they have only suffered one defeat in their previous six matches against Kuwait, losing 3-1 in a friendly back in 2023.
For the first time in over a decade, Kuwait are through to the knockout stage of this competition, going unbeaten in the opening phase under former Bahrain manager Juan Antonio Pizzi.
Tuesday will be their first appearance in the Gulf Cup semi-finals since 2013, and they can equal their longest unbeaten run of the year (four matches) with a victory.
Their run to this stage is one that few could have expected, seeing as they had lost back-to-back encounters ahead of this tournament and were on a nine-game winless streak.
Four of their previous five appearances in the semi-finals of this competition have ended in defeat for Al-Mouj Al-Azraq with their only triumph over that stretch being in 2010 on penalties against Iraq.
Their only victory in the group stage this year came after conceding the opening goal versus the United Arab Emirates (2-1 win), while they scored first in their other two encounters but failed to win.
Kuwait have not beaten the Bahranis in this competition since 2013, when they came away with a significant 6-1 hammering en route to a third-place finish.
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Team News
On Tuesday, Bahrain will be without defender Sayed Baqer, who was red-carded with 17 minutes remaining against Yemen, while Sayed Al-Wadaei collected his first cap with the senior squad.
Mohamed Al-Romaihi had their only strike on matchday three, his 17th with the national team, while he can make his 50th international appearance on New Year's Eve.
There were two changes made to the Kuwait starting 11 from matchday two to three, with Hamad Al-Harbi and Muath Al-Enezi coming in for Nasser Khader and Ali Khalaf.
Mohammad Daham put his side in front after 74 minutes against Qatar, but his seventh with Al-Azraq was not enough to earn them maximum points.
Bahrain possible starting lineup:
Jaffer; Adel, Benaddi, Emmanuel, Ali; Saeed, Al-Asfoor; Al-Aswad, Al-Malood, Al-Khattal; Al-Romaihi
Kuwait possible starting lineup:
Al-Rashidi; Al-Hajeri, Al-Harbi, El Ebrahim, Ghanem; Zayid, S. Al-Enezi; Majed, M. Al-Enezi, Daham; Nasser
We say: Bahrain 2-2 Kuwait (Kuwait advance on penalties)
Pizzi knows Bahrain well, and we believe his team can keep pace with a squad superior to them on paper and get that little bit extra from the home crowd when needed to put them over the top.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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