Preview: United Arab Emirates vs. Kuwait

Sports Mole previews Thursday's friendly clash between United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

United Arab Emirates will attempt to claim a third consecutive victory when they welcome Kuwait to Dubai for Thursday's friendly.

The visitors, meanwhile, will be looking to return to winning ways after losing to Kyrgyzstan in their most recent international in September.

Match preview

UAE began 2023 with a disappointing performance in January's Gulf Cup, where they finished bottom of a group that contained Thursday's opponents Kuwait as well as Qatar and Bahrain.

After suffering a group-stage exit, UAE returned to action in March for two home friendlies against Tajikistan and Thailand.

They played out a goalless in their meeting with Tajikistan, before they beat Thailand 2-0 in what proved to be Rodolfo Arruabarrena's final game in charge.

The Argentine was subsequently replaced by former South Korea boss Paulo Bento, who began his tenure with a 4-1 victory over Costa Rica in September thanks to a Yahya Al Ghassani brace and goals from Caio Canedo and Ali Salmeen.

That impressive result extended the UAE's unbeaten run in friendlies to five matches, and they will be determined to continue that fine run of form in their next two games against Kuwait and Lebanon as they build up to World Cup qualifying, which gets underway in November.

While the home side are ranked 70th in the FIFA World Rankings, Kuwait are sitting 65 places lower in 135th position.

The ranking may suggest that Kuwait are the underdogs, but the visitors enjoyed success in their last head-to-head meeting in January when they claimed a 1-0 victory in the Gulf Cup.

They were ultimately eliminated in the group stage on goal difference, but they responded in a positive fashion to claim three consecutive friendly wins over the Philippines, Tajikistan and Zambia, ensuring that they carried the momentum into the SAFF Championship.

Kuwait, who were one of two guest teams in the competition, navigated their way to the final, where they were beaten on penalties by tournament hosts India.

After going close in their second tournament of the year, Rui Bento's side were back in friendly action in September, beating Bahrain 3-1 before losing to Kyrgyzstan by the same scoreline.

United Arab Emirates friendly form:

United Arab Emirates form (all competitions):

Kuwait friendly form:

Kuwait form (all competitions):

Team News

Al-Ain goalkeeper Khalid Eisa will feature between the posts, and he is set to be shielded by the central defensive pairing of Khalifa Al Hammadi and Khalid Hashemi.

After scoring his eighth international goal against Costa Rica, Canedo is expected to feature up front in Thursday's friendly.

As for the visitors, they could line up with a backline featuring Abdullah Al-Buloushi, Khaled Hajiah, KhaledEbrahim and Hamad Al-Qallaf.

Shabaib Al-Khaldi, who is currently on loan at Hatta Club in the UAE Pro League, is set to be given the responsibility of leading the line for Kuwait on Thursday.

United Arab Emirates possible starting lineup:
Eisa; Ebraheim, Al Hammadi, Hashemi, Idrees; Salmeen, Nader; Al Ghassani, Lima, Saleh; Canedo

Kuwait possible starting lineup:
Abdulghafour; Al Buloushi, Ebrahim, H. Al-Enezi, Al-Qallaf; S. Al-Enezi, Hani; Al-Rasheedi, Al-Dhefiri, Al-Faneni; Al-Khaldi

We say: United Arab Emirates 2-1 Kuwait

Although the UAE were edged out in the previous head-to-head meeting at the Gulf Cup in Iraq, we think that they will make use of home advantage to claim a narrow victory over Kuwait and extend their unbeaten run in friendlies to six matches.

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