SAFF Championship 2021: India vs Bangladesh preview, prediction, line-ups and more

India face Bangladesh in their first match of their SAFF Championship 2021 campaign at the National Football Stadium, Male.

The Indian National Team has a rich history in the SAFF Championship. The Blue Tigers have lifted the trophy seven times while finishing as runner-up on four occasions.

In 2018, the Indians played with their U-23 team under Stephen Constantine, losing to Maldives in the final. This time around, coach Igor Stimac has taken his main squad to play in the sub-continental competition. India are the highest ranked nation in the tournament at 107 worldwide.

Bangladesh are ranked 189 in the FIFA World Rankings. However, they are one of the better placed teams in the Championship. With Bangladesh's Football League gaining prominence and increasing quality, the national team has seen steady growth ever since. They will be looking to pull off an upset and defeat their neighbors.

India vs Bangladesh SAFF Championship 2021 form guide

The Indains have come under the scanner after underwhelming performances recently. Their last five matches have brought about two wins, two draws and one loss. However, India failed to win against the likes of Afghanistan and Nepal once. Stimac's side have been rusty and will need to improve their performance to smoothly overcome their opponents.

Bangladesh have only won one out of their last five matches, though that doesn’t show the complete picture. All of the last five matches have been against stronger opponents, giving good practice to the side. They faced India in the World Cup qualifiers too, where they lost by two goals.

India vs Bangladesh SAFF Championship 2021 predicted lineups

Sunil Chhetri scored a brace last time these two teams met

India: Gurpeet Singh Sandhu, Seriton Fernandes, Pritam Kotal, Subhasish Bose, Suresh Singh, Glan Martins, Brandon Fernandes, Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco, Sunil Chhetri

Bangladesh: Anisur Rahman Zico, Yeasin Arafat, Topu Barman, Tariq Qazi, Mohammad Hridoy, Jamal Bhuyan, Saad Uddin, Rakib Hossain, Mohammad Ibrahim, Matin Miah, Suman Reza

India vs Bangladesh SAFF Championship 2021 where to watch

The SAFF Championship 2021 match between India and Bangladesh will be broadcast by EuroSport in India and T Sports in Bangladesh.

India vs Bangladesh SAFF Championship 2021 prediction

Bangladesh might prove to be a stubborn opponent, but the Indians will be favorites to win the match. With the depth of the Indian National Team, Bangladesh will have to be at their best to defeat the Blue Tigers.

Prediction: India 2-0 Bangladesh