Preview: Singapore vs Paraguay - prediction, team news, lineups

Singapore will be looking to get back to winning ways when they welcome Paraguay to the National Stadium on Friday.

The hosts currently sit 149th in the FIFA World Rankings, while Paraguay are 116 places above them in 33rd.

Match preview

Singapore's clash with Paraguay will be their first outing since a crushing 6-0 defeat to Malaysia back in October.

That result capped a disappointing FIFA ASEAN Cup campaign, where they finished third in Group A with three points and failed to reach the playoffs.

Head coach Gavin Lee is using this international break to freshen up his squad, handing a first senior call-up to 21-year-old midfielder Woo Chun Wei and also recalling Saifullah Akbar, Joshua Pereira and Darren Teh.

The game against Paraguay will be followed by another friendly against five-time World Champions Brazil just four days later, with Lee viewing the fixtures as valuable preparation for the 2027 Asian Cup.

Describing them as a "significant challenge" for Singapore, Lee urged his players to "embrace the discomfort" and "work towards arriving at the Asian Cup as the best possible version of ourselves".

© Imago

Paraguay arrive in Singapore after winning both of their post-World Cup friendlies, picking up a 2-0 win over Bolivia and a 1-0 win over Colombia.

Miguel Almiron bagged a brace against Bolivia, taking his international tally to 12 goals, while Hugo Benitez netted the winner against Colombia on his senior international debut.

Head coach Gustavo Alfaro has selected a 27-man squad for Paraguay's tour of Asia, which includes a trip to Japan following the friendly against Singapore.

Alfaro included four uncapped players and a further 11 names with less than 10 international appearances as he continues to assess his options following the World Cup, which saw Paraguay knocked out in the round of 16 by France.

Singapore form (all competitions):

Paraguay form (all competitions):

Team News

© Iconsport / Newspix

Singapore are missing the likes of Ikhsan Fandi and Nur Adam Abdullah through injury, while Cardiff City defender Perry Ng will not make his international debut as he is expecting the birth of his first child.

Ilhan Fandi is set to lead the line, with support out wide from Song Ui-young and Glenn Kweh.

Paraguay, meanwhile, could hand Benitez a start with veteran striker Antonio Sanabria currently out injured.

Almiron and Ipswich Town star Julio Enciso are expected to start on the wing, with Mathias Villasanti, Matias Galarza and Damian Bobadilla set to feature in midfield.

Singapore possible starting lineup:

Mahbud; Pereira, Harun, Baharudin, Stewart; Kweh, Shahiran, Stewart, Nakamura, Song, Fandi

Paraguay possible starting lineup:

Gill; Caceres, Gomez, Alderete, Alonso; Villasanti, Galarza, Bobadilla; Almiron, Benitez, Enciso

We say: Singapore 0-2 Paraguay

Singapore will benefit from home advantage, but Paraguay should have too much individual quality and we are backing them to pick up the win.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.