OMAN v TURKMENISTAN
Asian Cup
Thursday 17th January 2019
Kickoff: 1730hrs
Pick: Oman to win & Under 4.5 goals
Bookmaker: Coral
Odds: 1.70 (odds taken at 04:46 GMT, 17 Jan 2019)
The other match in Group F being played on Thursday night is a bottom of the table clash between Oman and Turkmenistan, and although this is the final group match for both sides, they still have a chance to qualify for a possible entry to the knockout rounds. Read on for our betting tips…
Oman Prediction
Oman come into this final match in Group F having suffered back-to-back losses against Uzbekistan 2-1 and a 1-0 loss to Japan who both head the group with the maximum six points, but have left Oman on zero points.
Oman had come into the Asian Cup having lost twice on the trot to Australia and Thailand, but prior to this recent four-match losing streak, Oman had put together an encouraging 14-match sequence without defeat.
It’s therefore difficult to determine what we’ll get from Oman in this encounter, but the previous head-to-head records have Oman in the ascendency over Turkmenistan as they’ve won three of the four previous meetings.
Goals have usually been hard to come by though involving matches concerning Oman – 15 of their last 19 matches have resulted in under 2.5 goals.
- Oman have won 3 of the previous 4 meetings with Turkmenistan
- 15 of Oman’s last 19 matches have resulted in under 2.5 goals
- Turkmenistan have kept 1 clean sheet in their last 13 matches
Turkmenistan Prediction
Turkmenistan have also lost their two opening matches of the group and now need to get a result against Oman on Thursday night to have any chance of progressing into the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup and extending their stay.
However, as mentioned earlier, Turkmenistan have lost three of the previous four meetings against Oman and will have their work cut out here, after having suffered defeats to Japan 3-2 and a 4-0 thrashing by Uzbekistan.
Turkmenistan have won just four of their last 13 matches in all competitions which were victories against Chinese Taipei (twice), Singapore and Afghanistan.
Within this 13-match sequence, Turkmenistan have lost eight of these matches and have failed to score in five of them. Moreover, Turkmenistan have kept just one single clean sheet in these last 13 matches and it looks very likely that they’ll concede against Oman in this encounter too.
Betting Tips Verdict
With both teams having lost their opening two matches, finding a straight winner here isn’t straightforward. However, I believe Oman have the edge in what may well be a low scoring match, so Oman to win and under 4.5 goals is very attractive at a good price.
