QATAR v IRAQ
Asian Cup
Tuesday 22nd January 2019
Kickoff: 2000hrs
Pick: Both teams to score
Bookmaker: Betfair
Odds: 2.10 (odds taken at 02:22 GMT, 22 Jan 2019)
The later kick-off in the Asian Cup on Tuesday night pits the wits of Qatar against Iraq as the betting tips continue in the round of 16 of the competition, with Iraq looking to avenge their defeat to Qatar back in March last year.
Qatar Prediction
Qatar fairly breezed through the group stages of the competition as they topped Group E with a 100% winning record and gaining the maximum haul of nine points from their three group matches with wins against Lebanon 2-0, a 6-0 thrashing of North Korea and another 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia.
Qatar therefore amassed an impressive total of 10 goals during the group stages, and having lost just three of their last 13 matches in all competitions, they’ll be confident of progressing through to the quarter-finals here.
Defeats to Uzbekistan, Algeria and Iran have been the exception rather than the rule where Qatar are concerned, as they’ve won 9 of these last 13 matches. Their leading goalscorer in the Asian Cup is Almoez Ali with 7 goals to his name so far, and has scored the first goal twice to date.
Key-Facts – Qatar v Iraq
- Qatar scored the most goals (10) during the group stages
- Iraq have lost just 1 of their last 13 matches in all competitions
- Both teams have scored in 5 of the last 7 meetings between these two sides
Iraq Prediction
Iraq qualified for the round of 16 thanks to an unbeaten group campaign in Group D where they finished runners-up behind eventual group winners, Iran, but only goal difference separated the top two nations as they both finished on 7 points apiece.
Iraq recorded back-to-back wins against Vietnam 3-2 and a 3-0 win over Yemen to get their Asian Cup campaign off to a flying start and a point against Iran in a 0-0 draw ensured their progression through to the knockout stages of the competition.
With just one defeat from their last 12 matches in all competitions, Iraq bring a strong and solid record of results into this crucial clash and they’ll certainly be no pushovers here, particularly as they’ve beaten their opponents, Qatar, in 3 of their last 7 meetings.
Muhanad Ali (2 goals) looks the most likely to score for Iraq in this encounter.
Betting Tips Verdict
The head-to-head results for the last 7 meetings between these two nations reads 3 wins for Qatar, 3 wins for Iraq and 1 draw – both teams should score again tonight.
