For the second time in a matter of days, Tajikistan and Saudi Arabia will go head-to-head in the Asian section of World Cup qualifying.
After having home advantage for Thursday's 1-0 win, Saudi Arabia will travel to Dushanbe for Tuesday's return fixture.
Match preview
Tajikistan made a steady start to their qualifying campaign, drawing 1-1 in their opening fixture against Jordan, before they thrashed Pakistan via a sizable 6-1 scoreline.
After finishing 2023 with a couple of World Cup qualifiers, Tajikistan kicked off 2024 with their first appearance at the Asian Cup.
Under Petar Segrt's guidance, they finished second in their group and ousted the United Arab Emirates in the last 16, but their memorable journey was ultimately brought to an end by a narrow 1-0 defeat to Jordan in the quarter-finals.
Segrt left his role following Tajikistan's exit, leaving his assistant Gela Shekiladze to take over the reins as the country's new head coach.
Despite losing to Saudi Arabia in Shekiladze's first game in charge, Tajikistan remained in second place due to their goal-difference advantage over Jordan in third position.
While Tajikistan are looking to avenge Thursday's defeat, Saudi Arabia will hope to produce a repeat to maintain their 100% record in qualifying.
Saudi Arabia cruised to a 4-0 win over Pakistan in their opener, before they beat Jordan 2-0 in their final outing of 2023.
Roberto Mancini's side then put their qualifying campaign to one side to focus on the Asian Cup in Qatar, where they took seven points from three group games before being eliminated on penalties in their last-16 clash with South Korea.
After having plenty of time to reflect on that disappointment, Saudi Arabia got back on track with a narrow 1-0 win in Thursday's home meeting with Tajikistan thanks to Salem Al-Dawsari's 23rd-minute effort.
Impressively, the Green Falcons are one of three teams yet to concede in the AFC section of qualifying, and they will try to produce another strong defensive display in Tuesday's fixture, as they look to tighten their grip on top spot in Group G.
Team News
As for the visitors, Awn Al-Saluli is expected to be fit to take his place in the side despite being forced off in the second half of Thursday's win.
However, Nasser Al-Dawsari has left the camp due to injury, while Ali Al-Bulaihi will miss Tuesday's contest through suspension.
Buoyed from scoring his 21st international goal, Salem Al-Dawsari will continue to provide Saudi Arabia with one of their main attacking outlets.
Despite falling to a narrow defeat on Thursday, Shekiladze could opt for consistency and select an unchanged lineup for the return fixture.
Vahdat Khanonov and Zoir Dzhuraboev are set to feature in central defence, while Manuchekhr Safarov and Akhtam Nazarov will operate as the two full-backs.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Shahrom Samiev will attempt to add to the eight goals that he has scored for his country.
Tajikistan possible starting lineup:
Yatimov; Safarov, Khanonov, Dzhuraboev, Nazarov; Umarbaev, Pandzhshanbe; Mabatshoev, Dzhalilov, Kamolov; Samiev
Saudi Arabia possible starting lineup:
Al-Owais; Al-Saluli, Lajami, Kadesh; Abdulhamid, Kanno, Ali, Al-Hassan; S Al-Dawsari; Ghareeb, Al-Shehri
We say: Tajikistan 1-2 Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia would have taken confidence from Thursday's victory, and we think that they will do enough to edge out Tajikistan for a second game in a row to maintain their 100% record in qualifying.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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