Vietnam will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers when they travel to Dubai to face Malaysia on Friday.
The Golden Star Warriors have not lost any of their last seven international matches across all competitions, while the hosts have suffered defeats in four of their previous six games.
Match preview
After losing 2-0 against Bahrain in a friendly fixture last month, Malaysia restarted their World Cup qualification campaign in the worst possible manner, losing 4-0 away at the United Arab Emirates.
The Malayan Tigers were only trailing 1-0 heading into the final seven minutes of the match and were pushing to score an equaliser. However, a late brace from Brazilian-born midfielder Fabio Virginio de Lima and a strike from Ali Mabkhout secured all three points for the hosts.
That result leaves Malaysia fourth in Group G, three points behind the UAE who currently sit in second place, occupying one of the four best runners-up positions.
Head coach Tan Cheng Hoe – who has been in charge since 2017 – is not giving up hope of progressing to the next round of qualification, although his side potentially need to win both of their final two games to be in with a chance.
As for Vietnam, they are one of eight Asian teams who sit top of their group and are also unbeaten after their first six games.
The Golden Star Warriors have drawn twice and won the other four, including a convincing 4-0 victory at home to Indonesia on Monday.
Second-half strikes from Nguyen Tien Linh, Nguyen Quang Hai, Nguyen Cong Phuong and Vu Van Thanh helped secure all three points for Park Hang-seo's side, who remain two points clear of the UAE at the summit of Group G.
Vietnam have an impressive record against Malaysia, winning eight of their last 10 meetings against them, scoring 13 goals and keeping six clean sheets in the process.
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Team News
Malaysia goalkeeper Farizal Marlias – who is just two appearances away from his 50th international cap – is expected to start ahead of Farnborough-born stopper Samuel Somerville and Khairulazhan Khalid.
Experienced centre-back Aidil Zafuan Radzak is set to keep his place at the heart of the defence alongside FC Midtjylland defender Dion Cools, while 35-year-old forward Norshahrul Idlan Talaha could be brought into the first XI at the expense of Guilherme de Paula.
As for Vietnam, midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang – who is 13 appearances away from becoming the nation's most-capped player – was not in the squad that beat Indonesia earlier this week and the 32-year-old remains doubtful for Friday's game.
Vu and Phan Van Duc are set to keep their places in central midfield as a result, while Tien Linh is likely to start up front after scoring on Monday.
Malaysia possible starting lineup:
Marlias; Davies, Cools, Zafuan, Corbin-Ong; Azih Azam, Krasniqi, Kutty; Rashird, Sumareh, Talaha
Vietnam possible starting lineup:
T.T. Bui; T.D. Bui, Do, Que; Phong, Vu, Phan, Tuan Anh; Quang Hai, Tien Linh, Van Toan
We say: Malaysia 0-2 Vietnam
Mayalsia know that a win on Friday will keep their hopes of progressing to the next stage of qualification alive, while a victory for Vietnam will see them qualify for the next round.
The visitors are in better form heading into this encounter, and we feel that they have enough quality to claim a comfortably win in Dubai.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Malaysia win with a probability of 41.03%. A win for Vietnam had a probability of 32.85% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Malaysia win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.13%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.7%) and 2-0 (7.1%). The likeliest Vietnam win was 0-1 (8.87%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.42%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 7.6% likelihood.
