Two teams who could certainly do with a victory go head-to-head at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium on Tuesday as India entertain the challenge of Afghanistan in World Cup qualifying.
The hosts are winless in five straight matches either side of the new year, while the visitors go in search of a first victory in four games.
Match preview
India had to make do with a share of the spoils from their meeting against Afghanistan, which ended goalless at the Damac Club Stadium on Thursday evening.
Igor Stimac's men were in the ascendancy for large spells of the contest but failed to find the cutting edge in a nervy and cagey affair.
While the Blue Tigers may be disappointed not to have claimed all three points, they have now snapped a three-game losing streak since the turn of the year.
Next up is the task of facing off against an opposing outfit who have managed just one victory from the 12 previous editions of this fixture.
Having not won a game in front of their fans since June 2023, Tuesday's hosts will be aiming to get back to winning ways on home turf.
Afghanistan were under fire for the majority of their clash against India last time out but avoiding defeat for the first time since November is certainly a welcome outcome.
Ashley Westwood's men will now seek to kickstart their World Cup qualifying journey, which has been underwhelming to say the least so far.
The Lions of Khorasan currently sit bottom of Group A with just one point picked up from three outings heading into Monday's clash in Guwahati.
Off the back of an 8-1 thrashing against Qatar in their last away involvement, Tuesday's visitors will need to be wary of another defensive collapse on the road.
Team News
Despite seeing his goalless streak extend to seven matches for club and country last time out, India's record goalscorer Sunil Chhetri is expected to lead the line in this one.
Chhetri is set to rack up his 150th international cap on Tuesday and would become only the 41st male player in history to reach that milestone.
Once again, Afghanistan will be without several key players who are currently taking a stand against the Afghanistan Football Federation due to alleged corruption.
Omid Popalzay is one of only eight players from the Afghanistan squad that played against Mongolia in the first round of qualification, and the 28-year-old is all but guaranteed a start here.
India possible starting lineup:
Sandhu; Mishra, Ali, Bheke, Poojari; Singh, Singh, Apuia, Chhangte; Partap, Chhetri
Afghanistan possible starting lineup:
Azizi; Nzary, Hanifi, Amiri, Askar; Asekzai, Skandari, Popalzay, Azadzoy; Sharifi, Arezou
We say: India 2-0 Afghanistan
Given the current tension in the Afghanistan camp, India will be disappointed not to have come away with maximum points last time out, but Tuesday's hosts are expected to put on an improved showing here. We fancy them to carry the day at the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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