United Arab Emirates are set to welcome Kyrgyzstan to Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in their fifth AFC World Cup qualifying match on Thursday.
UAE are third with four points in their six-team group and are six points from the two automatic qualification spots for the World Cup, whereas the away side are fifth with three points from four games and are one point from third and fourth place, which would qualify them for the next round.
Match preview
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The home team lost 1-0 against Uzbekistan on October 15 in their most recent qualifying game, though it should be noted they only conceded as a result of a 76th-minute penalty that had been awarded 11 minutes after the UAE had been reduced to 10 men.
United Arab Emirates will be disappointed by their 1-1 draw with North Korea in the prior match on October 10 considering their opponents are currently ranked by FIFA as the 111th best national side in the world, 45 places below Al Abyad.
Manager Paulo Bento's side have only qualified for one World Cup in their history, last reaching the finals of the competition in 1990.
Bento will be concerned that his team have succumbed to defeat in two of their four most recent matches, drawing one and winning the other.
UAE have also failed to achieve victory in their last three home games, but to their credit, they did triumph in seven of the prior eight matches at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium.
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Opponents Kyrgyzstan defeated North Korea 1-0 on October 15 thanks to an 11th-minute goal from Christian Brauzman, and despite accumulating just 39% possession, they managed to prevent North Korea from producing any big chances.
The visitors did lose 3-1 against Qatar on October 10, a match in which they faced five big chances and created none of their own.
Boss Maxim Lisitsyn's side have kept just two clean sheets in their 15 most recent games, conceding 22 goals in that period.
Though Lisitsyn's team beat North Korea last time out, that victory was preceded by three consecutive losses, as well as two stalemates prior to those defeats.
Kyrgyzstan have been poor away from home for some time given they have lost 12, drawn three and won just one of their last 16 fixtures on the road.
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Team News
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The hosts are likely to select goalkeeper Khalid Eisa, who could start behind a defence consisting of Zayed Sultan, Khalifa Al-Hammadi, Mohamed Omar Al Attas and Abdulla Idrees.
Abdullah Al Menhali will be unable to play due to his red card against Uzbekistan, so Marcus Meloni may be partnered in midfield by Isam Faiz for the UAE.
Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan could field centre-backs Christian Brauzman, Eldiyar Zarypbekov and Valeriy Kichin in front of goalkeeper Erzhan Tokotaev.
Odilzhon Abdurakhmanov is a probable candidate to feature in a double pivot with Alimardon Shukurov, while Gulzhigit Alykulov could start up front.
United Arab Emirates possible starting lineup:
Eisa; Sultan, Al-Hammadi, Al Attas, Idrees; Faiz, Meloni; Suhail, Alzaabi, Alghassani; Canedo
Kyrgyzstan possible starting lineup:
Tokotaev; Brauzman, Zarypbekov, Kichin; Zhyrgalbek, Abdurakhmanov, Shukurov, Kenzhebaev; Merk, Alykulov, Kojo
We say: United Arab Emirates 2-1 Kyrgyzstan
UAE have struggled for victories at home in recent games, but they have previously boasted a good record at Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium.
Should the hosts rediscover their home form, it is difficult to see how Kyrgyzstan avoid defeat, especially given their poor away record.
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