Nepal vs Australia prediction, preview, team news and more | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
Australia will aim to pick up their seventh straight win in Group B of the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup when they take on Nepal on Friday.
The match will take place at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium.
The hosts, on the other hand, will look to quickly move on from their 3-0 loss to Jordan and return to winning ways.
After their friendly fixtures, Nepal resumed their World Cup qualifiers last Thursday as they claimed a 3-0 win over Chinese Teipei.
Anjan Bista and Nawayug Shrestha scored in either half to end Nepal’s three-game losing streak in the group.
Abdullah Al Mutairi's men have picked up six points from seven games and currently sit in fourth place, one spot above rock-bottom Chinese Teipei.
Meanwhile, Australia have been simply superb so far in the qualifiers. They sit at the summit of Group B, picking up wins in each of their previous six games.
They currently boast the best goal difference in the qualifiers with 24 goals scored and only two conceded.
Graham Arnold's side head into Friday's game following a 5-1 victory over Chinese Teipei on Monday.
Thirty-year-old forward Mitchell Duke put on a performance of the highest quality as he scored two second-half goals to hand Australia an emphatic win.
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Nepal vs Australia Head-To-Head
This will be the second meeting between the two nations. Australia cruised to a comprehensive 5-0 victory when both sides met in the reverse fixture back in October 2019.
Nepal Form Guide (all competitions): D-W-L-W-L
Australia Form Guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-W
Nepal vs Australia Team News
Nepal
Head coach Abdullah Al Mutairi has called up 23 players to the squad for their World Cup qualifiers. Of the 23 players, defender Persija Jakarta is the only player plying his trade outside the Nepal domestic league.
There are no injuries or suspension concerns in the squad.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Australia
The visitors will be without the services of Tom Rogic, who picked up an ankle injury while playing for Scottish club Celtic.
Injured: Tom Rogic
Suspended: None
Nepal vs Australia Predicted XI
Australia Predicted XI (4-3-3): Mathew Ryan; Trent Sainsbury, Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Ryan McGowan; Mathew Leckie, James Holland, Jackson Irvine; Martin Boyle, Jamie Maclaren, Nikita Rukavytsya
Nepal Predicted XI (4-3-3): Kiran Chemjon; Dinesh Rajbanshi, Rohit Chand, Ananta Tamang, Bikash Khawas; Santosh Tamang, Pujan Uparkoti, Suman Aryal, Anjan Bista Abhishek Rijal, Suman Lama
Nepal vs Australia Prediction
Nepal will be playing for pride after a poor start to their qualifiers has them languishing in the bottom half of the table. In contrast, Australia have been dominant so far and we predict they will continue this fine form.
The visitors have a strong crop of players in their squad and we predict they will prove to be the difference on Friday.
Prediction: Nepal 0-3 Australia
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