Lebanon square off against Tajikistan in an international friendly at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
The two teams are competing along with Malaysia and the Philippines in the 43rd edition of the Merdeka Tournament - a quadrennial friendly tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate their Independence Day.
Match preview
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Ranked 116th in the world by FIFA, Lebanon are managed by Montenegrin Miodrag Radulovic, who has been in charge since December last year and has a record of two wins, two draws and five defeats in nine games.
Lebanon began 2024 with a 1-0 friendly loss to Saudi Arabia, before crashing out in the group stage of the delayed AFC Asian Cup after picking up just one point from three matches.
The Cedars then failed to win or score in each of their first three AFC World Cup qualifying matches, but their seven-game winless run in all competitions was ended in emphatic fashion on June 11, as they cruised to a 4-0 victory over Bangladesh.
Lebanon now enter Wednesday's contest seeking revenge against Tajikistan, as they suffered a 2-1 defeat in their only previous meeting during the Asian Cup in January.
Unlike Lebanon, Tajikistan managed to progress from the Asian Cup group stage and reached the quarter-finals in their first-ever appearance at the tournament, losing 1-0 to eventual finalists Jordan.
Petar Segrt departed as head coach after the tournament and was replaced in February by Georgian Gela Shekiladze, who has won one, drawn one and lost two of his opening four matches in charge.
After failing to celebrate success in any of Tajikistan's first three AFC World Cup qualifiers, Shekiladze picked up his first win in charge of the Crowns when they beat Pakistan 3-0 in June.
Ranked 103rd in the world by FIFA, Tajikistan are now looking to win back-to-back internationals for the first time since January and end a run of three successive away games without winning or scoring.
The winners of Wednesday's match between Lebanon and Tajikistan will play either Malaysia or the Philippines in the Merdeka Tournament final, while the losers will face the other losing semi-finalist in a third-place playoff.
Team News
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Al-Najma left-back Mohammed Safwan has been called up to the senior Lebanon squad for the first time and the 21-year-old is in contention to make his debut either from the start or as a substitute.
Wingers Khalil Bader and Zain Al-Abidin Fran, who have both returned to the first-team setup after missing the previous international break in June, could also feature in some capacity, while 95-cap Mohamad Haidar is set to captain the team from midfield.
As for Tajikistan, centre-back Vakhdat Khanonov is sidelined for 'several weeks' after sustaining a thigh injury, while goalkeeper Rustam Yatimov has also been left out as he is nursing an unspecified injury.
Experienced left-back Akhtam Nazarov is expected to start in the back four, while captain Parvizdzhon Umarbayev pulls the strings in centre-midfield and Shahrom Samiev leads the line.
A total of eight uncapped players have been selected in Shekiladze's squad, including 18-year-old trio Barakatullo Nigmatullozoda, Dzhovidon Khushvakhtov and Bilol Boboev, who will all be hoping to make their debuts.
Lebanon possible starting lineup:
M. Matar; Zein, Ayoub, Nassar; Safwan; Tneich, Srour; Darwich, Haidar, Chaaban, Bitar
Tajikistan possible starting lineup:
Barotov; Safarov, Khanonov, Z. Dzhuraboev, Nazarov; Shukurov, Umarbayev, Irgashev; Solehov, Samiev, Toirov
We say: Lebanon 1-2 Tajikistan
There is little to separate these two nations and a closely-fought contest is set to be played out in Kuala Lumpur, but we are backing Tajikistan to edge this one as they did in their previous meeting seven months ago.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
