World Cup co-hosts Mexico take on Australia at the iconic Rose Bowl in the early hours of Sunday morning in a friendly.
Given that they automatically qualified for the World Cup finals, Mexico have not been in competitive action since last July when they defeated the USA 1-2 in the Gold Cup final.
Since then, Javier Aguirre’s men have played eight friendlies in which they are unbeaten (W4-D4-L0), with the most recent one of those being a 2-0 victory over Ghana last Friday in Puebla.
Australia qualified for their sixth consecutive World Cup finals after finishing in second position in their World Cup qualifying group, finishing six points clear of third-placed Saudi Arabia.
Since then, the Socceroos have been in friendly action twice at the end of March, defeating both Cameroon and World Cup debutants Curacao.
How the bookies view it: Mexico favourites
Mexico have been installed as favourites to continue their fine run of form, with bet365 pricing a Mexican success at 3/5.
Australia are 15/4 underdogs to make it three wins from three this calendar year, whilst the draw is also 14/5.
Head to head: Socceroos with the slight edge
These two nations have met on six previous occasions, with Australia winning two of them, whilst the Mexicans have won just once.
The other three have ended in stalemates, including a 2-2 draw in their most recent meeting in Texas three years ago.
Players to watch: Berterame to bag again?
German Berterame has been in fine form for Inter Miami in the MLS this season, scoring seven goals and providing three assists across his opening 15 matches.
That includes four goals and an assist across his last three appearances, and the Mexican forward is an appealing 10/11 at bet365 to Score or Assist in California in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Mexico will be without the injured Luis Malagon and Marcel Ruiz, whilst Alexis Vega, Santiago Gimenez and Raul Jimenez are all doubts.
Australia will be missing the injured Hayden Matthews, Patrick Yazbek, Nicholas D’Agostino and Riley McGree.
Mexico: Rangel, Sanchez, Montes, Vasquez, Gallardo, Alvarez, Romo, Pineda, Chavez, Quinones, Berterame
Australia: Ryan, Italiano, Trewin, Circati, Degenek, Robles, Metcalfe, O’Neill, Robertson, Mabil, Boyle
Anything else catch the eye?
Mexico are unbeaten in each of their six matches this calendar year (W4-D2-L0), with both of their draws coming against Portugal and Belgium, and they are rightly favourites for this clash.
El Tri have scored nine goals across those six friendlies, but more impressively, kept five clean sheets and conceded just once.
Mexico are just 3/5 to win, but combining that with under 4.5 goals boosts the price to 20/21 at bet365, which appeals to me.
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