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The four top-ranked sides in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup remain in contention for the big final on Super Saturday with India and Korea remaining unbeaten after three games.
The Polish boys, who came in as a last-minute replacement for South Africa, very nearly did the Indians a favor, as they led the Koreans by a 2-1 margin with ten minutes left to play - but a brace from Jung Man-Jae prevented what could have been a major upset.
As a result of the 3-2 win, the South Koreans are the current table toppers with seven points followed by the Indians who have just as many points. Goal difference too fails to separate the two sides, but the Koreans are ahead as they have scored ten goals in total while the Indians have only managed seven.
Neither team can afford to relax just yet, as hosts Malaysia and Canada are just a point behind, and the winners of Wednesday's encounters will feel a lot more comfortable going into the last round of pool matches slated for Friday.
While the Koreans, who began with an upset win over Canada in their opener, will be hoping for a repeat performance against the hosts, the Indians will look to outplay Paul Bundy's side by a handsome margin much as they did at the Odisha World Cup.
Four goals in the last quarter helped Harendra's boys get past Canada by a 5-1 margin at Bhubaneswar, and the Indians would like nothing better than to win comprehensively, via a goal-fest, which would enable them to steer clear of their rivals, in case goal difference does come into play to determine the finalists on Friday.
That said, a victory by any margin would strengthen India's position considerably more than the other teams in the fray, considering that they run into minnows Poland, on Friday, and would be expected to earn full points without breaking into a sweat.
The Canadians, however, are no pushovers as was evident from the manner in which they stunned India in the classification match of the Hockey World League in 2017.
In London, the Indians had to be content with a sixth-place finish after suffering a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Paul Bundy's side, and cannot afford to let down their guard in the crucial encounter.
Mandeep Singh has scored a couple thus far and will need to continue finding the back of the net with his deft touches, while Varun Kumar will be keen to improve his team's PC conversion rate.
Here is how you can catch all the action
Event: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019
Venue: Ipoh, Malaysia
Date: 27 March 2019
Time: 3:35 pm Indian Standard Time (IST)
Telecast: No telecast in India
Live Streaming: Details awaited
Live Updates: Sportskeeda
Prediction
Manpreet and co. will be hoping for a big win against a Canadian outfit which has not performed to their potential thus far. Getting past Malaysia was always going to be a challenge, and the 4-2 win against Oltmans' side would have done a world of good to the confidence of the Indians who seem to be finding their rhythm at just the right time.
Score Prediction: India 4 - Canada 0
