Wales and Iran head into their Group B second fixture at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Friday.
Both teams are aware that victory could be a pivotal step towards qualification for the World Cup knockout stages.
Wales came from behind to share the points against the U.S.A in their first match courtesy of a goal by Gareth Bale from the penalty spot.his first-ever World Cup goal.
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After being walloped by England the Iranian team will look to dust themselves up, and create a competitive belief once more ahead of their encounter with Wales in the early kickoff.
Kickoff – 11:00 G.M.T
Venue – Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
Team news
Wales
Wales has Joe Allen back from injury for today’s key World Cup clash with Iran. Further forward, striker Kieffer Moore is expected to start after being left on the bench for the first half against the Americans, with his introduction leading to a vastly-improved second-half performance.
Iran
First-choice goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand is out after suffering a concussion in the 6-2 thrashing by England on Monday. the backup choice Hossein Hosseini will start instead.
Wales predicted XI:
Hennessey; Mepham, Rodon, Davies; Roberts, Allen, Ampadu, Williams; James, Bale; Moore
Hennessey; Mepham, Rodon, Davies; Roberts, Allen, Ampadu, Williams; James, Bale; Moore
Iran predicted XI: H.Hosseini; Moharrami, Pouraliganji, Cheshmi, M.Hosseini, Mohammadi; Jakanbakhsh, Noorollahi, Karimi, Gholizadeh; Taremi
Odds / Predictions
Wales will be hoping that Iran defends as badly against them as they did against England on matchday 1. Robert Page’s men managed to secure a point against the UA despite a slow start to the game and will be looking to get at Iran from the very first whistle.
We’re backing Wales to win based on the performances of both nations in the opening round of fixtures. Wales did start slow against the USA and went in at the break 1-0 down, but Page made changes to the side at the break and it paid dividends as Wales dominated the second forty-five and could have easily gone on to win the game. Iran, on the other hand, started fairly solidly against England but once their keeper went off injured, the underdogs collapsed and their defending was amateur at best.
