Matchday four of the Asian World Cup qualifiers sees Uzbekistan and Hong Kong go head-to-head at the Milliy Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.
This is the second meeting between the sides in the space of five days following a 2-0 win for the hosts at the Mong Kok Stadium last time out.
Match preview
Uzbekistan were made to wait for a well-deserved victory to keep the pressure up on Iran at the top of Group E midway through the qualifying campaign.
Srecko Katanec's men dominated the first half without anything to show for it before second-half goals from Eldor Shomurodov and Rustamjon Ashurmatov got the job done.
As a result, the White Wolves have now won five of their most recent eight matches across all competitions, losing just once in that time.
Lying in store next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who remain without a victory from the previous three editions of this fixture.
Having been beaten just once on home turf since September 2022, Tuesday's hosts have proven themselves to be a force to reckon with in front of their fans.
Hong Kong's poor start to 2024 continued as they put on another toothless display in their defeat against Uzbekistan on Thursday afternoon.
Jorn Andersen's men have now lost seven of their last eight matches, with a 2-0 win over Guangdong XI in late January the only exception during that time.
Currently with one point picked up from three games so far, the Dragons sit third in Group E, a whopping six points behind their next opponents.
Looking for what would be only a second win on the road in two years, Tuesday's visitors have work to do at both ends of the pitch if they are to avoid defeat here.
Team News
Uzbekistan's Eldor Shomurodov's notched up his 39th international strike against Hong Kong and continues to extend his lead at the top of his nation's scoring charts.
Rustam Ashurmatov opened his international account at the 39th time of asking in the aforementioned game and will head into Tuesday's game on a high.
Yapp Hung Fai racked up his 91st cap for Hong Kong last time out and is now closing in on becoming the first player in his country's history to rack up a century of appearances.
Twenty-five-year-old Jordan Lam will be pushing to make his debut in this one, having had to make do with a place on the substitutes' bench last time out.
Uzbekistan possible starting lineup:
Yusupov; Eshmurodov, Ashurmatov, Sayfiyev, Khusanov; Turgunboev, Erkinov, Khamrobekov, Shukurov; Shomurodov, Masharipov
Hong Kong possible starting lineup:
Yapp; Sun, Gerbig, Jose, Yue; Tan, Wu, Chan; Orr, Juninho, Camargo
We say: Uzbekistan 3-1 Hong Kong
Uzbekistan are flying at the moment and will certainly take some stopping here. We are backing the home side to cruise to a routine win at the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
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