Preview: Yemen vs Saudi Arabia – Prediction, Team News, Lineups

Yemen And Saudi Arabia will celebrate Christmas Day by competing against each other on matchday two Arabian Gulf Cup on Wednesday at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City.

Both teams are aiming for their first points in the competition this year, with Yemen losing 1-0 to Iraq in their opening game and the Green Falcons suffering a 3-2 defeat to Bahrain.

Game preview

© Imago

The festive season is upon us and all Yemen wants for Christmas is three midweek points, something it has come close to achieving several times this year.

This first win will still be denied them in 2024, as this team has conceded three draws and lost three games by a single goal difference so far this year.

Meanwhile, they have never won a game in the tournament and have picked up a total of three points in their last 13 Golf Cup games.

Noureddine Ould AliThe men failed to score in four of the six games this year, scoring just three goals.

At the same time, they suffered just one goal defeat in their last six competitive games and lost a second-round 2026 World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates (2-1) in March.

Yemen have scored just one goal in one of their last 17 Gulf Cup games, on matchday two of the 2023 tournament when they were beaten 3-2 by Oman.

© Imago

It was a less than ideal start to the Gulf Cup for the Saudis as they lost their third straight game in the 2023 competition.

Since his return to the national team at the end of October Herve Renard has only managed one win in his four games as coach (3-1 against Trinidad and Tobago).

Saudi Arabia have conceded four goals in their last two games, the same as they have conceded in their last four games combined.

They have lost three games in a row in all competitions when they conceded the first goal, while they have had two wins in this position this year.

The Saudis have been winless in five consecutive meetings against Asian opponents, with their last win against that region coming in a World Cup qualifier in September (2-1 against China).

In their previous 18 games against Yemen, the Green Falcons have never lost and have won all six games against them in this tournament without conceding a single goal.

Yemen Gulf Cup of Nations Form:

Yemen form (all competitions):

Form of the Saudi Arabia Gulf Cup of Nations:

Saudi Arabia Form (all competitions):

Team news

© Imago

Two players from Yemen are aiming for their first international matches on Wednesday Ahmed Al-Khamisi And Osama Abdullah Haidar Unused substitute player on the first match day.

They made only one change to their starting XI on Sunday from the team that began their World Cup qualifier with Nepal in June (2-2), as Omar Al Golan came into the lineup instead of Anes Al-Maari.

On the Saudi side Abdullah Hawsawi collected his first international cap Abdulaziz Al-Othman, Abdulmalik Al-Oyayari, Ayman Fallatah And Saad Al-Mousa want to make their first appearance for the Green Falcons on Christmas Day.

Musab Al-Juwayr And Saleh Al-Shehri They managed a goal in the second half on matchday one, but it wasn’t enough to come back against Bahrain.

Yemen possible starting lineup:
Aman; Al-Wasmani, Al-Zubaidi, Ghaleb, Hubaishi; Al Golan, Anbar; Al-Gahwashi, Al-Najjar, Al-Matari: Al-Dahi

Possible starting lineup for Saudi Arabia:
Alaqidi; Al-Ghannam, Lajami, Al-Bulaihi, Al-Shahrani; N. Al-Dawsari; Al-Qahtani, Kanno, Al-Juwayr, Al-Hamadan; Al-Shehri

We say: Yemen – Saudi Arabia 0:3

There doesn’t appear to be enough firepower on the Yemeni side to trouble the Saudis, who we believe will have plenty of chances to score and secure a decisive victory on Wednesday.

To data analyze the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game Please click here.

Previews via email