2022 FIFA WCQ’s: Iran vs Bahrain [Preview]

SportsKeeda – MANAMA, Iran will take on Bahrain at the Bahrain National Stadium in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Monday.

The ‘hosts’ come into this game on the back of a 3-1 victory against Hong Kong on Thursday.

Ali Gholizadeh put the Princes of Persia in the driving seat with his first-half goal before Karim Ansarifard and Vahid Amiri made sure of the result with second-half goals.

Bahrain ran riot in a 8-0 whitewash of Cambodia. Kamil Al Aswad, Ismaeel Abdullatif and Ali Madan all scored braces in the rout.

That win left the Warriors top of Group C with 12 points from six matches. Iran are in third spot on nine points.

Head-to-Head

The two sides have clashed on 16 occasions in the past and Iran have a better record with seven victories to their name.

Bahrain have five wins to their name, while four previous matches between the sides ended in a stalemate.

Their first leg meeting ended in a 1-0 victory for Bahrain in October 2019. Mohammed Al Hardan scored the match-winning goal in the 65th minute.

Iran rebounded from consecutive losses and are currently on a four-game winning streak. Bahrain have nine wins from their last 11 matches.

Iran form guide: W-W-W-W-L

Bahrain form guide: W-W-D-L-W

Team News

Iran

Iran have called up 27 players for the coming FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Porto forward Mehdi Taremi headlines the squad and is joined by other stalwarts including Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Ehsan Hajsafi and Sardar Azmoun.

Injuries: None

Suspension: None

Bahrain

Bahrain called up 23 players for their latest international fixtures and the team is headlined by captain Sayed Mohammed Jaffer.

Injuries: None

Suspension: None

Predicted XI

Iran Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Alireza Beiranvand (GK); Hossein Kanaani, Saeid Ezatolahi, Shoja Khalizadeh, Sadegh Moharrami; Ahmad Nourollahi, Alireza Jahanbaksh; Ali Gholizadeh, Vahid Amiri, Mehdi Taremi; Sardar Azmoun

Bahrain Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Sayed Jaffar (GK); Rashed Al Hooti, Ahmed Abdulla, Ahmed Moosa, Hamad Al-Shamsan; Ali Haram, Ali Madan; Mahdi Al-Humaidan, Kamil Al Aswad, Al Jassim Shaikh; Mohamed Al-Romaihi

Prediction

Iran are slight favorites in this tie but Bahrain has the home advantage in their favor. Anything other than a win for Iran could be detrimental to their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup.

The ‘home’ side have come back into form after an initial wobble and we are predicting a narrow victory for Iran, with goals to be scored at both ends.

Prediction: Iran 2-1 Bahrain