Midweek brings us an international friendly, with Oman playing host to Lebanon as part of their preparations ahead of the AFC World Cup Qualifiers next month.
These nations have met seven times in the past, and Oman has won four, including the last two meetings, while Lebanon has only won once, with two games ending level.
Match preview
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Oman have made impressive strides forward in the last six months, starting at the Gulf Cup of Nations, where they reached the final of the competition, beating the likes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar along the way.
Unfortunately, Al-Ahmar came up short of the title, losing the final 2-1 to Bahrain, though that defeat is the only one they have conceded in their last 10 matches across all competitions.
Since that loss, Oman are unbeaten in their last four matches, including a 1-0 victory over Kuwait and a draw against Korea Republic in their World Cup qualifiers in March, which put them fourth in their group with 10 points.
Gulf Samba's final two World Cup qualification games are at home to Jordan and away to Palestine next month, with the former currently second in the group, three points ahead of them.
Since replacing Czech tactician Jaroslav Silhavy in October last year, Rashid Jaber has overseen two home games and avoided defeat in both, with the most recent being a 4-1 victory over Niger A' in a non-FIFA friendly last week.
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Meanwhile, Lebanon also enter this match with momentum, off the back of a 5-0 victory over Brunei in their third round 2027 AFC Asian Cup group B qualification match at the end of March.
That result marked the Cedars' fifth consecutive victory and sixth match unbeaten since November last year, while it was also their fifth match in a row scoring two or more goals.
Notably, Lebanon have improved significantly in defence since Miodrag Radulovic arrived at the helm in December 2023, with the side having now kept seven clean sheets in their last 10 matches.
The visitors have also won their last three away games, beating Myanmar in November and Kuwait twice a month later, though they have not beaten their upcoming opponents in an away game since 2012.
Team News
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Rabia Al-Alawi sustained an injury just 25 minutes after coming on as a substitute against Kuwait in March, but he ended the season with five goal contributions in his final eight league games for Al-Zawraa and will be in contention to start this match.
Muhsen Al-Ghassani and Abdulrahman Al-Mushaifri have both netted twice in Oman's FIFA World Cup qualification third round matches and are likely to feature in the hosts' engine room alongside Al-Khaldiya's Salaah Al-Yahyaei.
For the visitors, MSV Duisburg attacker Malek Fakhro bagged a brace against Brunei in the side's Asian Cup qualifier in March and will almost certainly lead the line for his side in midweek.
Given how well they have performed in defence lately, Lebanon's defensive trio of Hussein Zein, Ahmad Khairdien and Mohammad Safwan are likely to remain unchanged in front of Mostafa Matar between the sticks.
Oman possible starting lineup:
Al Mukhaini; Al Harthi, Al-Khamisi, Al Rushaidi, Al-Busaidi; Al Alawi, Al-Saadi; Al Yahmadi, Al-Yahyaei, Al-Mushaifri; Al Sabhi
Lebanon possible starting lineup:
Matar; Zein, Khairdien, Safwan; Osman, Shour; Chakroun, Tneich, Khairdien; Merheg, Fakhro
We say: Oman 1-0 Lebanon
While Lebanon have been in very good form over the last year, Oman has moved up three places in the FIFA rankings under Rashid Jaber, and we feel the hosts will be able to edge the result in this match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
