Saudi Arabia will meet with Japan this Thursday evening in the World Cup Qualifiers with the hosts coming into the game off the back of a narrow 1-0 away victory over Oman in a qualifier last month as Salah Al Shehri scored the winning goal in the 42nd minute.
As for Japan, they triumphed by the same margin away to China last month, where Vissel Kobe forward Yuya Osako bagged the game's only goal just before half time.
【Scouting report】An aggressive team who can also possess the ball - Saudi Arabia National Team (AFC Asian Qua #football https://t.co/JcSTjyonQr— jfa_en (@jfa_en) October 5, 2021
【Scouting report】An aggressive team who can also possess the ball - Saudi Arabia National Team (AFC Asian Qua #football https://t.co/JcSTjyonQr
Such results leave Japan in fourth and Saudi Arabia in second, with their two wins from two and a +3 goal difference giving them the edge over Japan and Oman.
Despite this, Hajime Moriyasu’s men come into this battle as the clear favourites and they are still expected to qualify for the 2022 World Cup with relative ease inside the top two.
The Japanese also eased through their Group F third round group where they proved their class over most of Asia.
The nation managed to win all eight games, and along the way, they netted an incredible 46 goals and let in only two. Only Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan scored a goal against them in this third round group.
This will be the 17th time both Japan and Saudi Arabia have met, and the travelling side enter the battle with a significantly better record on the head-to-head, with 10 wins to their name.
Saudi Arabia have been the winners on five occasions over Japan, and on the other hand, only one match between them both has seen a draw.
Most recently, both nations met in the round of 16 of the 2019 Asian Cup where Takehiro Tomiyasu's 20th-minute goal gave Japan a 1-0 win as they finished second.
However, Saudi Arabia are currently on a seven-game winning streak, which will bode well for their confidence in this one.
Elsewhere, Japan's lengthy winning record burst into flames last time out, as they endured a shock defeat to Oman on matchday one, hence why they sit out of the top two in this group.
Premier League duo Takehiro Tomiyasu and Takumi Minamino and former Southampton man and current captain, Maya Yoshida, all headline a decent Japan squad that should get the job done here.
Forebet predicts an easy night’s work for them and as a result, we should also see 2.5 goals in the game.