Saudi Arabia vs Oman World Cup Qualifiers Preview, How to Watch and Predictions

On 1st matchday of this international break, Saudi Arabia, who are table toppers of group B, are hosting their next challenge against Oman, who are struggling to fight for 2nd spot in the hopes of being able to show up for the World Cup 2022.

Here is everything you need to know about this match. HOW? WHERE? WHEN? WHY? Find answers to all your questions right here.

Saudi Arabia vs Omans Previous Battles

The Gulf nationals have played each other 21 times in the course of 45 years, out of which the green shirts have claimed victory 13 times, Oman has won 5 times and 3 games were declared drawn.

Their recent clashes included a group stage match of Gulf Cup 2019/2020 where Saudi won 1-3 followed by a world cup qualifiers match in September 2021. The final result was a 0-1 loss for Oman because of Saleh Al Shehri’s first half goal.

Current Standings of Both Teams

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s current position in group B of WC Qualifiers (Asia) is strong and intact. They are sitting on top of their table with Japan maintaining a 4 points difference and Australia with 5 points who are securing 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.

Although Japan were the favorite of all, Saudi has managed to pull a wonderful course of action in the 6 matches they have played, out of which they stand victorious in 5 of them while drawing 1 and losing absolutely no challenge.

Saudi Arabia’s Form in last 5 matches: (leftmost is recent)

Oman

Oman rests right below Australia on 4th position which is a not a very safe one but they are still looking for a breakthrough to accumulate every small chance of being able to fight in the biggest football tournament in the world

The red shirts have managed to win 2 games, drawn 1, and lost 3 out of 6 total matches played of all

Oman’s form in the last 5 matches: (leftmost is recent)

What does This Match decide for Both Teams?

There are 2 groups formed, namely A & B. Each group consists of 6 teams and out of 12 teams only 4 (top 2 spots in each group) qualify to appear for WC22. These are the rules set by FIFA for the qualification process of Asian teams.

Each team plays 10 matches in their respective groups and as of now all teams have played 6 out of their 10 duels

Saudi Arabia is in a strong position and all they have to do is hold their spot or at most fall back to the 2nd position, since the only threat for them is Japan and Saudi has to wish for Japan to stand unparalleled until this dilemma ends.

But Oman is comparatively on a substantially weaker spot and to turn it around they have to win almost all of their upcoming contests and to pray that none of the superior teams claim victories.

To put in simpler words, Saudi Arabia can afford to lose or draw this match but the only agenda of Oman should be winning this playdown since they are on very thin ice already.

Match Time and Streaming Sources

The contest will be played at:

08:15 PM in Saudi Arabia on 27th January 2022, Monday 

05:15 PM in the United Kingdom on 27th January 2022, Monday

12:15 PM in Washington, DC, USA on January 2022, Monday

Live coverage of the match will be streamed on the following channels for cited countries:
*Unfortunately, there are no services covering this match in India*

Probable Starting Lineups

Saudi Arabia:
Al-Rubaie; Al-Burayk, Al-Amri, Al-Boleahi, Al-Ghanam; Al-Malki, Kanno; Al-Muwallad, Al-Najej, Al-Dawsari; Al-Shehri

Oman:
Al-Mukhaini; Mabrook, Al-Khamisi, Al-Habsi, Al-Kaabi; Fawaz, Al-Yahyaei; Al-Saadi, A.Al-Alawi, R.Al-Alawi; Al-Hajri

Result Prediction

We predict the final score to be 1-1 considering the following points:
1) Oman has to give their 100% and will combine heaven and the earth to score against the hosts but Saudi won’t hold back too.

2) Match is played in their home ground i.e. King Abdullah Sports City and considering Saudi’s phenomenal form, losing the match seems a bit far-fetched for them.

3) Zaid Al-Bawardi, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Salman Al-Faraj are the 3 players injured in Saudi Arabia’s squad meanwhile Oman is fully fit and has reported 0 injuries so far.