For the first time in their history, Bahrain and Malaysia will square off in an Asian Cup group fixture, with that encounter taking place at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Saturday.

Each team enter this contest with a defeat, as Bahrain were beaten 3-1 by South Korea on matchday one, while the Malaysians lost 4-0 to Jordan.

Match preview

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While they looked dangerous at times on Monday, in the end, the South Koreans were just too strong for Bahrain, who lost in their opening group stage fixture at this tournament for the first time since 2015 (2-0 defeat versus Iran).

Juan Antonio Pizzi's men only had 29% of the possession and two efforts on target, so the fact that they were level with a superior Korean side for even five minutes is a positive sign for them going forward.

The Bahrainis will enter this contest on a three-match losing run in all competitions, scoring just one goal over that stretch.

Should they lose on Saturday, it would be the first time Bahrain will have suffered three successive defeats in the same year since 2012, which was the last time they lost four in a row.

Bahrain have won their last three games when scoring the opening goal, while failing to concede in any of those fixtures.

They have won their last three meetings with Malaysia, conceding just once over that stretch, and have never lost in five previous Asian Cup qualifiers against them.

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After an over 16-year wait, Malaysia returned to the group stage of the Asian Cup this week, though it was anything but a memorable return, with the Malayan Tigers suffering their worst competitive defeat since 2021.

That year, the Malaysians followed up a 4-0 defeat to Jordan with a 5-1 loss against Uzbekistan days later, though that was the last time this team had suffered consecutive defeats in the same calendar year.

In their first match, Kim Pan-gon's men struggled to cope with the high intensity of Jordan, conceding three times in the opening 32 minutes of play while failing to find the back of the net for the first time since October 2023 (2-0 loss versus Tajikistan).

It has been over 44 years since they last won a group stage fixture in this competition, earning a 2-0 victory against the United Arab Emirates in 1980.

While they began this tournament poorly, Malaysia have put forth some solid performances overall of late, losing just one of their previous 11 games before their match on Monday.

You have to go back to September 1978 for the last time they got the better of Bahrain, earning a 2-1 triumph at the President's Cup that year, though they came close to ending that slump in their previous meeting against them, squandering a second-half advantage and losing 2-1 in June 2022.

Team News

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Amine Benaddi is doubtful for this match after the Bahraini centre-back had to be stretchered off the pitch with an injury at half time against the Koreans, with Sayed Baqer taking his place.

Two changes were made to the Bahrain starting 11 on Monday from the side which began their friendly against Australia, with Mohamed Marhoon and Hazza Ali coming into the fold instead of Abdullah Al-Khalasi and Jasim Khelaif.

Abdullah Al-Hashsash had the only goal for Bahrain on matchday one of this tournament, just the second of his international career.

Malaysia were missing Endrick in their opening encounter with an apparent leg injury, while La'Vere Corbin-Ong played the full 90 minutes despite previously suffering from a similar issue.

Captain Matthew Davies can reach the half-century mark for international caps if he plays in their final two group fixtures, Akhyar Rashid is three away from reaching that same mark, while Romel Morales made his first appearance for the senior side on Monday.

Safawi Rasid can move beyond Wong Choon Wah and Thanabalan Nadarajah into seventh for all-time goals if he finds the back of the net this weekend, with the Terengganu striker netting 20 times for the national team.

Bahrain possible starting lineup:
Lutfalla; Adel, Baqer, Al Hayam, Ali; Khelaif, Al-Hardan, Atede, Marhoon; Helal, Al-Humaidan

Malaysia possible starting lineup:
Hazmi; Davies, Eldstal, Cools; Saad, Fazail, Wilkin, Sumareh; Rasid, Lok, Morales

We say: Bahrain 2-0 Malaysia

Malaysia look vulnerable on the back end and could be understandably fragile following what transpired in their opening fixture, and that is something we think will work to the advantage of Bahrain.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

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