UAE and Australia will lock horns at the Al Rayyan Stadium in the fourth and final round fixture of the AFC 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday.
UAE finished third in Group A of the third round qualifiers while Australia came up short in their third round fixtures, suffering a loss in their last two qualifiers to finish third in Group B.
The two sides will fight it out in a one-off fixture for a place in the inter-confederation playoffs against Peru next week.
UAE vs Australia Head-to-Head
The two sides have met six times across all competitions, including friendly games. They also met in the qualification campaign for the 2018 World Cup.
The two sides were drawn in Group B and Australia secured wins in both meetings between the teams in that qualification campaign. Australia finished third in the third round on that occasion but eventually made it to the finals.
UAE have just one win to their name in this fixture, with that victory coming in the AFC Asian Cup 2019. The Socceroos have recorded three wins against their western rivals while two games between the two sides have ended in draws.
UAE form guide (all competitions): D-W-L-L-W
Australia form guide (all competitions): W-L-L-D-W
UAE vs Australia Team News
UAE
Al Abyad have named a 30-man squad for the game against Australia, which also took part in the friendly game against the Gambia last Sunday, which ended in a 1-1 draw. There are no injuries or suspension concerns for them at the moment.
Injuries: None
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Unavailable: None
Australia
Graham Arnold has traveled to Qatar with a 28-man squad after Tom Rogic withdrew due to personal reasons. There are no injuries or suspension concerns for them at the moment.
Injuries: None
Doubtful: None
Suspension: None
Unavailable: Tom Rogic
UAE vs Australia Predicted XIs
UAE (4-3-3): Ali Khasif (GK); Walid Abbas, Fahd Al Dhanhani, Abdulaziz Heikal, Mohammed Marzouk; Ali Salmeen, Bandar Al-Ahbabi, Abdullah Ramadan; Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout.
Australia (4-4-2): Mathew Ryan (GK); Rhyan Grant, Trent Sainsbury, Joel King, Fran Karačić; Martin Boyle, Ajdin Hrustic, Kenny Dougall, Awer Mabil; Jamie Mclaren, Mitchell Duke.
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UAE vs Australia Prediction
Australia have the upper hand in this fixture and have also secured a 2-1 win against Jordan last Wednesday in a friendly fixture. With the UAE playing for a shot at World Cup qualification for the first time since 1990, they will not go down without a fight here.
UAE are also better acclimatized to the playing conditions in Qatar, which might give them an advantage in the match. The game will likely go down to the wire and we are backing Australia to eke out a win on penalties in this match.
Prediction: UAE 2-2 Australia (Australia to win on penalties).