Yemen and Saudi Arabia will celebrate Christmas Day by facing each other on matchday two of the Arabian Gulf Cup on Wednesday at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City.
Both sides will seek their first points of the competition this year, with Yemen losing 1-0 to Iraq in their opener and the Green Falcons suffering a 3-2 defeat versus Bahrain.
Match preview
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The festive season is upon us, and all Yemen will want for Christmas is three points in midweek, something they have come close to achieving several times this year.
That first victory continues to elude them in 2024, with this team collecting three draws so far this year while losing three matches by a single goal.
Meanwhile, they still have never won a game at this tournament, claiming a combined three points in their previous 13 Gulf Cup encounters.
Noureddine Ould Ali's men have failed to find the back of the net in four of their six matches played this year, scoring just three goals along the way.
At the same time, they have only suffered one defeat in their previous six competitive games when scoring, losing a second-round 2026 World Cup qualifier versus the United Arab Emirates in March (2-1).
Yemen have only scored in one of their last 17 Gulf Cup affairs, and it came on matchday two of the 2023 tournament when they were beaten 3-2 by Oman.
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It was a less-than-ideal beginning to the Gulf Cup for the Saudis, who lost their third consecutive game at this competition dating back to 2023.
Since returning to the national team in late October, Herve Renard has only claimed one victory in his four matches at the helm (3-1 over Trinidad and Tobago).
Saudi Arabia have conceded four goals in their last two games, the same number as they had allowed in their previous four matches combined.
They have lost three consecutive fixtures across all competitions when conceding the opening goal while claiming two victories in that position this year.
The Saudis are winless in five consecutive encounters versus Asian opposition, with their last victory against that region coming in a September World Cup qualifier (2-1 over China).
In 18 previous matches with Yemen, the Green Falcons have never lost, winning all six of their games against them in this tournament without conceding a single goal.
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Team News
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Two Yemen players are seeking their first international caps on Wednesday, with Ahmed Al-Khamisi and Osama Abdullah Haidar being unused substitutes on matchday one.
They made just one change to their starting 11 on Sunday from the team that began their World Cup qualifier with Nepal in June (2-2), as Omar Al-Golan came into the lineup in place of Anes Al-Maari.
On the Saudi side, Abdulelah Hawsawi collected his first international cap, while Abdulaziz Al-Othman, Abdulmalik Al-Oyayari, Ayman Fallatah and Saad Al-Mousa seeking to make their first appearances for the Green Falcons on Chirstmas Day.
Musab Al-Juwayr and Saleh Al-Shehri scored in the second half on matchday one, but it was not enough to bring them back against Bahrain.
Yemen possible starting lineup:
Aman; Al-Wasmani, Al-Zubaidi, Ghaleb, Hubaishi; Al-Golan, Anbar; Al-Gahwashi, Al-Najjar, Al-Matari: Al-Dahi
Saudi Arabia possible starting lineup:
Alaqidi; Al-Ghannam, Lajami, Al-Bulaihi, Al-Shahrani; N. Al-Dawsari; Al-Qahtani, Kanno, Al-Juwayr, Al-Hamadan; Al-Shehri
We say: Yemen 0-3 Saudi Arabia
There does not seem to be enough firepower on the Yemen side to trouble the Saudis, who we believe will have plenty of scoring opportunities on Wednesday and win decisively.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
