Tow teams currently on a contrasting run of results go head-to-head at the Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabah Stadium on Tuesday as Kuwait face off against Qatar in World Cup qualifying.
The hosts have lost four of their last five matches, while their visitors go in search of a ninth consecutive win across all competitions.
Match preview
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Qatar kicked off life after Asian Cup glory with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Kuwait at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Thursday evening.
Tintin Marquez's men opened the scoring just after half time through Akram Afif before strikes from Ahmed Al Rawi and Afif put the result beyond doubt.
Consequently, the Maroons remain top of their World Cup qualifying group with maximum points from their three matches so far, five points clear of India.
Awaiting them next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have been beaten in the last four editions of this fixture by a combined score of 11-0.
Currently just one win away from making it through to the third round of the qualifiers, Qatar now set out to complete the job on enemy territory.
Kuwait's poor showing against Qatar last time out was in keeping with their rough start to 2024, which has seen them lose three straight games.
In that time, Rui Bento's men have struggled on both ends of the pitch, letting in eight goals while managing to find the back of the net on only one occasion.
With just three points picked up from as many matches so far, the Blue Waves sit third in the Group A standings, albeit just one point adrift of India in second.
Having suffered a first home defeat since 2022 in their most recent home outing, Tuesday's hosts will be keen to avoid consecutive losses in front of their fans.
Team News
Akram Afif is on a superb run of form at the moment having netted 14 times in his last eight matches, making him one to keep an eye on here.
Ahmed Al Rawi opened his Qatar account in what was only a second appearance last time out, and the forward could be handed a full debut here.
Defensive duo Khaled Hajiah and Rashed Al Dousari are major doubts for Kuwait here, having endured nightmare outings against Qatar last time out.
This could see 19-year-old Mohsen Falah make a long-awaited return to the hosts' starting lineup for the first time since last October.
Kuwait possible starting lineup:
Abdulghafoor; Bormeya, Al Hajeri, Al Enezi, Ghareeb; Hany, Jabarah, Saleh, Daham; Al Salama, Al Khaldi
Qatar possible starting lineup:
Barsham; Abdulla, Salman, Mendes, Waad; Abdulsallam, Fathi, Al Mejaba; Afif, Abdurisag, Al Rawi
We say: Kuwait 0-2 Qatar
Kuwait have had issues finding the back of the net recently, and we expect the trend to continue here. We can also see Qatar coming away with all three points at the sound of the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
