India is looking for its first win of 2024 in the last game of the year as it welcomes Malaysia to Hyderabad.
IND vs MAL Match Details
Date: Monday, 18 October 2024
Time: 19:30 (IST)
Venue: GMC Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad
IND vs MAL Match Preview
It has been a year to forget for India as they have not only failed to win a single game but also massively underperformed their expectations in major tournaments. Witnessing the worst Asian Cup in their history by conceding defeat in all games and failing to score a single goal, the Blue Tigers also gave away their opportunity to make history by qualifying for the third round of the World Cup qualifier for the first time. These failures led to Igor Stimac’s contract being terminated and replaced by Manolo Marquez. The appointment failed to make an instant impact with India losing their Intercontinental Cup defence at Hyderabad to Syria. However, the 1-1 draw against higher-ranked Vietnam in a friendly last October brought some belief to the side. Back at the place where Marquez won the ISL trophy in 2022, India would like to break their winless streak in 2024 by finally getting a win in the last match of the year. The task does not look simple as they have won only once against their opponent Malaysia in the previous five games although they have shared the same number of victories in this fixture with 12.
In contrast, Malaysia had a welcoming year even though like India, faced elimination from the group stages of the Asian Cup and narrowly missed out on the third round of World Cup qualification. Despite their disappointing show in Qatar, the team drew 3-3 against South Korea spearheaded by Tottenham Hotspurs star Heuing-Min Son. The Malayan Tigers secured their record thirteenth Merdeka Cup title in September and have lost just once since March 2024. Pau Marti Vicente has also guided his side to four wins this year including a 3-1 victory over Laos before making the trip to India. Malaysia will face the Blue Tigers for the 33rd time having largely dominated this fixture this century with three wins including a 4-2 controversial victory in last year’s meeting between the sides at Kuala Lumpur. They will want to win this fixture to get ahead in the head-to-head record and take momentum to the AFF Championship in December.
Recent Forms
IND: DLDLD
MAL: WWLW
IND vs MAL Predicted Lineups
India
Gurpreet; Bheke, Jhingan, Anwar; Roshan, Apuia, Suresh, Jay; Farukh; Chhangte, Manvir
Malaysia
Hazmi; Davies, Cools, Tan, Ra’op; Laine, Josue, Yahya; Rasid, Ahmad, Hanapi
India vs Malaysia head-to-head
Played - 32
IND won - 12
Drawn - 8
VIE won - 12
IND vs MAL Dream11 Top picks
Captain: Lallianzuala Chhangte
Vice-captain: Farukh Chowdhury
IND vs MAL Dream11 Team Suggestion
GK: Gurpreet (Cr - 7.5)
DEF: Cools (Cr - 9), Bheke (Cr - 9), Anwar (Cr - 9)
MID: Manvir (Cr - 7.5), Rashid (Cr - 8), Josue (Cr - 8.5), Roshan (Cr - 9)
FW: Chhangte (Cr - 8), Hanapi (Cr - 8), Farukh (Cr - 7.5)
Vice-captain: Farukh Chowdhury
Captain: Lallianzuala Chhangte
India vs Malaysia Match Prediction
India will look for their first home win from open play since beating Nepal in SAFF Championship 2023 and the first win since record scorer Sunil Chhetri retired but Malaysia could be a tough nut to crack with their promising form. A draw could be the optimum result of the match with a cagey 1-1.
