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South Korea will face Bahrain at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Monday in the opening round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
The Tigers of Asia are making their eighth consecutive appearance in the continental showpiece this month and will hope they can make it count. They beat Iraq 1-0 in a friendly clash last time out, with Mainz's Jae-Sung Lee scoring the sole goal of the game to record his 10th international strike and first since 2021.
South Korea are two-time winners of the continental showpiece and have finished as runner-ups four times. They were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the competition back in 2019 and will be targeting a deeper run this time around.
Bahrain, meanwhile, have appeared in the last five editions of the Asian Cup and will extend that streak in Qatar this month. They were beaten 2-0 by Australia in their last match and could have no real complaints about the result after managing just one shot on target throughout the match.
South Korea vs Bahrain Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Monday's game will mark the 25th meeting between the two teams. South Korea have won 16 of their previous matchups while Bahrain have won just three times. There have been five draws between the two teams.
- The two sides last faced off in the last 16 of the 2019 Asian Cup with Korea Republic running out 2-1 winners.
- The Tigers of Asia have lost just one of their last eight games in this fixture.
- Bahrain are without a clean sheet in their last seven games in this fixture, a run dating back to 1993.
- South Korea were ranked 23rd in the latest FIFA rankings and now sit 63 places above their midweek opponents.
South Korea vs Bahrain Prediction
Korea Republic are on a brilliant six-game winning streak and are undefeated in their last eight games across all competitions. They have kept clean sheets in each of their last seven outings and will head into Monday's game full of confidence.
Bahrain, meanwhile, are on a run of back-to-back defeats after going undefeated in their four games prior. The sheer gulf in class and quality between the two teams should see the Taegeuk Warriors win this one.
Prediction: South Korea 3-0 Bahrain
South Korea vs Bahrain Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: South Korea to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Four of the last five matches between the two teams have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: NO (Both sides have found the back of the net in just one of Korea Republic's last nine matches)
