After losing their opening fixtures of the World Cup, hosts Qatar and Senegal square off in their second Group A fixture on Friday. The West Africans showed a bit more quality in their first outing and should have the edge over the hosts.
Qatar began their World Cup campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Ecuador in their opening Group A fixture. That result set an unfortunate record for the former Asian champions as they are now the first hosts to lose the opening fixture at the Mundial.
Beyond the record, there was plenty wrong with Qatar’s performance in the opening fixture. They looked out of place at the elite level, finishing without a single attempt on target while also struggling to find any kind of discipline and balance at the back.
The good news for Qatar is that there is plenty of room for improvement and having won their previous five matches, manager Felix Sanchez will be keen for a response. However, the problem is that those wins were against lower ranked teams and they tend to struggle against more established sides as seen in the defeat to Ecuador.
Senegal are also seeking their first win in Group A having suffered a 2-0 defeat to Netherlands in their opening fixture. They had held their own for much of the encounter before being let down by a couple of late errors from Edouard Mendy.
Despite the result, manager Aliou Cisse will be keen to focus on some of the positives in his team’s performance. Prior to the errors from Mendy, the Senegalese had looked solid and organised at the back as they successful thwarted several Dutch attacks.
However, one problem is that in the absence of Sadio Mane, Senegal appeared to be missing their major attacking threat. However, the good news is that the Teranga Lions did create a number of chances and will be hoping for better luck in front of goal on Friday.
How the bookies view it
Senegal are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a win priced at 4/6 by Betfred. A victory for Qatar is valued at 27/5 by Unibet, who are also offering odds of 14/5 for a draw.
Head to head
This will be the first ever meeting between Qatar and Senegal.
Players to watch
Ismaila Sarr was one of the more lively players for Senegal in the opening fixture and could be worth keeping an eye on. A bit more composure in front of goal could see the Senegal forward find the net on Friday at 8/5 with Paddy Power.
Before being let down by the goalkeeper, the duo of Pape Cisse and Kalidou Koulibaly looked decent at centre back. Given Qatar’s lack of quality in attack, they will be targeting a clean sheet at 5/6 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
With Senegal expected to keep a clean sheet on Friday, BTTS NO could be on the cards at 4/6 with BetVictor. The West Africans are likely to have the upper hand and could be tipped to earn a win to nil at 29/20 with BetVictor.
Friday’s clash is not expected to be a thriller, so Senegal could be tipped to win by 1 goal at 12/5 with bet365.
This World Cup match between Qatar and Senegal will be played on Nov 25, 2022 and kick off at 13:00. Check below for our tipsters best Qatar vs Senegal prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
