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India and Maldives cross swords with their eyes on the SAFF Championship 2021 final in the last round of league stage matches on Wednesday at the National Stadium in Male.
The Blue Tigers come into the game on the back of a hard-fought 1-0 win over Nepal, thanks to a second-half goal from Sunil Chhetri. Igor Stimac's men had failed to get the three points against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in their first two games in the SAFF Championship 2021 and desperately needed the win against Nepal.
India started their SAFF Championship 2021 campaign with a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh, in which it was Sunil Chhetri yet again who scored the solitary goal for the Blue Tigers. The second game with Sri Lanka ended in a goalless draw.
Maldives started their SAFF Championship 2021 campaign with a shock defeat to Nepal by a 1-0 margin. Ali Suzain's side have made a comeback in the tournament since then by registering consecutive victories over Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The 2018 SAFF Championship Champions won 2-0 and 1-0 against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with veteran Ali Ashfaq scoring two goals while Hamza Mohamed scored the third goal.
Maldives currently sit at the top of the SAFF Championship 2021 and a draw will be enough to propel them to the SAFF Championship 2021 final while India need all three points to leapfrog Nepal to second place in order to reach the finale.
India vs Maldives SAFF Championship 2021 Head to Head Results
India have been the dominant side against Maldives in head-to-head results. The Blue Tigers have emerged victorious on 14 occassions and drew 2 games while Maldives have won 4 games against the Blue Tigers. Interestingly, Maldives ran out 2-1 winners in the last meeting between the two sides, back in the SAFF Championship 2018 final.
India vs Maldives SAFF Championship 2021 Recent Form
India: D-W-D-D-W (Latest on the right)
Maldives: L-D-L-W-W (Latest on the right)
India vs Maldives SAFF Championship 2021 Predicted Line-ups
India: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Subhasish Bose, Mandar Rao Dessai, Mohammad Yasir, Suresh Wangjam, Lalengmawia Ralte, Brandon Fernandes, Manvir Singh, Sunil Chhetri
Maldives: Mohamed Faisal (GK), Haisham Hassan, Ali Samooh, Akram Abdul Ghanee, Hussain Yoosuf, Ibrahim Aisham, Hussain Nihan, Hamza Mohammad, Ali Fasir, Ibrahim Hussain, Ali Ashfaq
India vs Maldives SAFF Championship 2021 Where to watch
The game will be televised LIVE on EuroSport SD, HD in India. Fans in Maldives can watch the game on YES TV. The game will kick-off at 09.30 PM IST and 9 PM Maldives Time. You can also get all the updates from Sportskeeda's LIVE blog.
India vs Maldives SAFF Championship 2021 Prediction
India have dominated the opposition in terms of possession and chances created in their last few fixtures, but have failed to score goals. The lack of proper strikers have cost the Blue Tigers in front of goal, and the same is likely to continue. A draw is a likely result.
Prediction: India 1-1 Maldives
