Saudi Arabia has a chance to make it a 100% perfect record in their 2022 World Cup qualifiers this weekend when they take on China. The match schedules for Tuesday at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium with kickoff at 8 pm.
Both sides come off triumphant wins in their previous World Cup qualifiers matches. Saudi Arabia registered a 1-0 win over Japan, whereas China picked up a tight 3-2 win over Vietnam.
Starting in June, Saudi Arabia played a series of World Cup qualification matches against Palestine, Yemen, Singapore, and Uzbekistan. Three wins for the Saudi Arabia team mean they have a 100% win record.
Herve Renard’s men showed their great performance when they beat 10-man Vietnam 3-1 in the opening match of the group. They still could not lose against Oman after beating them 1-0 five days later.
Saudi Arabia continued a streak of victories in qualifying matches, beating Japan by a narrow 1-0 score last Thursday.
On the other hand, China moved away from the bottom of the table with a 3-2 win over Vietnam last Thursday.
Yuning Zhang and Wu Lei scored to give the Dragon’s Team two goals, but after that, Ho Tan Tai and Nguyen Tien Linh restored parity; Lei scored his second goal in the 95th minute, condemning Vietnam for the fourth consecutive time.
However, they face an in-form Saudi Arabia team that remains unbeaten in three of the last four matches.
Saudi Arabia vs. China Head to Head
Both sides have four games against each other, with Saudi Arabia taking two wins while China has one win. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
- Oman 0-1 Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Arabia 3-1 Vietnam
- Saudi Arabia 3-0 Uzbekistan
- Singapore 0-3 Saudi Arabia
Away
- China 3-2 Vietnam
- China 0-1 Japan
- Australia 3-0 China
- China 3-1 Syria
- China 5-0 Maldives
Saudi Arabia Team News
Saudi Arabia, whose offense includes Al Hilal midfielder Abdullah Otayf, will take to the pitch without him as he injured calves against Vietnam in September.
China Team News
Meanwhile, Wu Lei has been a song for China with nine goals in his last seven caps, and he will definitely be one to look out for.
Eight months after he arrived, Beijing Guoan striker Yuning Zhang scored six goals in his last five games for club and country, and the 24-year-old could maintain his position in the offensive line.
Prediction and Odds
Saudi Arabia has a glowing streak of eight games ahead of them. While they’ll try to keep the momentum going, they’ll face a rampant China team who have high spirits after their last victory over Vietnam.
- Saudi Arabia Win
- Goals Over 2.5
- Both Teams to Score