Bahrain take on the visitors Oman in the semifinal match of Gulf Cup of Nations. The match will be played on Monday, January 16th.
Bahrain pleased their fans with a bright game in the group stage of the Persian Gulf Cup and got out of group B from the first place. They beat the United Arab Emirates and Qatar 2-1, took a draw with Kuwait in the last round. Considering that they conceded in every match, as well as Sousa's team recent friendlies with Serbia (1-5) and 2-2 with Canada's reserves, they have obvious problems with the rear, and a bright combinational attacking style is often goes sideways in terms of the reliability of defense.
| 2 x £10 Free Bet | Review | |||
| 100$-500$ for No Lose Free Bets | Review | |||
| 100% up to £200 | Review | |||
| Not available | Review |
In our understanding, Oman is much more reliable, which knows how to play the first number and adapt to the opponent and his weaknesses. Before the tournament, they destroyed Syria twice 2-1 and 1-0, Belarus 2-0, and also fought the Germans on equal terms in Muscat for 80 minutes of the game (0-1). Wards of Branko Ivankovic in the tournament in group A stopped the host Iraq (0-0), and beat Yemen and Saudi Arabia (3-2 and 2-1 respectively). Only on the worst goal difference did they lose the first place to Iraq, but scored the same 7 points as Bahrain in their quartet.
Obviously, a stronger and more balanced team is Oman, who, in addition to being more skilled, are solid at their own goals in important matches, which cannot be said about Bahrain, which concedes too much due to the high defensive line. In addition, it was the Omanis who played in the decisive part of the selection for the World Cup, while the red-white-red flew out in the early stages. A more confident and stable game in the back from Oman makes us pick them with a zero handicap in this match. In addition, in the last head-to-head match a year ago in the Arab Cup, Ivankovic's wards smashed Bahrain 3-0. In addition, since 2010, in 11 fights, Bahrain has never been able to beat Oman in full-time rivalry (5 losses, 6 draws), so considering all this, it is strange to see them as favorites, albeit small ones, according to odds.
Prediction for the match: Oman to win with 0.0 handicap.
