Saudi Arabia vs Australia
World Cup Qualifier – Asian Qualifier
Date: Thursday, 6th October 2016
Kick-off: 18:45 UK
Venue: King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia host Australia on Thursday as the Group B leaders square off against each other. The Saudi's qualified for 4 straight World Cups from 1994-2006 but failed last time around. In this campaign they have made a bright start and if they can beat Australia it will set them up for a top 2 finish and qualification to Russia in 2018.
Wins over Thailand (1-0) and Iraq (1-2) have set them up well ahead of this game. Confidence is high with the team winning 8/10 qualifiers mostly against minnow nations but they won't be a push over at home.
In Saudi, the hosts are unbeaten since 2011 when the Australians last visited. That's a run of 7 games, winning 6, including the last 5 of which 3 were to nil including the last 2.
Australia
Australia have made the last 3 World Cups, they lost all 3 Group Games in the 2014 finals but when it comes to qualifying they are very consistent. 2 wins from 2 this time around without conceding is a great start and leaving Saudi without defeat would be a decent result.
The current Asia Cup holders have won their last 6 World Cup qualifiers with 5/6 to nil. It's very unlikely that Australia won't make the top 2 but with Japan also in this Group it could get very interesting should they lose this game.
Away from home Australia have won 4/5 qualifiers with the exception a shock 2-0 away loss in Jordan in 2015. The Socceroos have netted in 7/8 away games and kept clean sheets in 3/4 as this team have found a formula to get results in very tricky countries.
Saudi Arabia and Australia face off in the World Cup Qualifiers 2018 on Thursday.
Both sides sit atop Group B in the qualifiers with two wins from both games. The winner of this match undeniably becomes as close to a shoe-in as there can be.
Australia's opener was a 2-0 win over Iraq at home. The team then traveled to the United Arab Emirates to defeat the UAE 1-0.
Saud Arabia kicked off its tournament with a 1-0 win at home against Thailand. The team then went into Iraq and put up an impressive performance. Down 1-0 throughout the game, the team launched a comeback that featured two goals in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Australia is looking to qualify for its fourth straight World Cup dating back to 2006. The team made the round of 16 that year but has been among the worst sides in the two more recent tournaments. The team finished fourth in Group B of the 2014 tournament in a group that featured Spain, Chile and the Netherlands.
Saudi Arabia has competed in four World Cups, most famously in 1994 when it made it out of the group stage and finished 12th in the tournament. The team played in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 editions of the tournament but failed to get out of its group on both occasions. The team has not made it to the tournament since.
Saudi Arabia vs Australia: Head-to-Head Stats
Australia have won in 3 of the 4 meetings against Saudi Arabia, while they lost once. The lone defeat came in the 1997 Confederations Cup fixture at Saudi by a narrow 1-0 margin. The Socceroos have won in all three fixtures since then, two of which coming in the qualifiers for 2014 World Cup.
Their latest meeting was in a friendly on September 2014 at the Craven Cottage in London which produced a 3-2 thrilling victory for the Australians.
Saudi Arabia vs Australia: Prediction
Both teams will be looking for improvement when they face-off on Thursday despite winning their opening two matches in Group B. Saudi haven’t scored a goal in open play, with all three goals coming from penalties. Australia on the other hand, tend to struggle in the opening hours of the play with all their goals coming in the second half. But the Socceroos have a better quality squad and are far more experienced than their oppositions. Moreover, they do not drop many points once they reach this stage of the qualifiers. They away side are slight favourites, but expect a tight clash on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia vs Australia: Betting Tips
Australia to win at 2.15 (23/20)
Over 2.5 goals at 2.35 (27/20)
Both Teams to Score and Australia to win at 5.50 (9/2).
