Picture Courtesy: AFC Media

India will play their final Group A match in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 when they take on Bahrain at the Al-Sharjah Stadium in UAE on Monday. With three points in their bag, the encounter serves as a virtual do-or-die situation for India, as their fate in the tournament hangs on the result. While there are a lot of permutations and combinations which will decide India’s passage to the next round, a victory will be the only thing on the Blue Tigers’ minds.

INDIA

Despite going down 2-0 to UAE in their last match, the Blue Tigers received plenty of plaudits for their spirited performance. The combination of the woodwork and some fine saves from UAE goalkeeper Khalid Eisa kept the likes of Sunil Chhetri and Udanta Singh at bay. On another night, India might have walked away with a win to seal their qualification to the Round of 16. As things stand now, Stephen Constantine’s men can book their place in the final 16 with a win or a draw against Bahrain regardless of the result of the other Group A fixture between UAE and Thailand. A loss, however, may complicate things as it would mean that the Blue Tigers would need other results to go their way in order to progress in the tournament.

With the stakes sky-high, Constantine is expected to name an unchanged line-up for Monday’s tie with Ashique Kuruniyan starting alongside Sunil Chhetri up front. The Englishman may be tempted to start with Jeje Lalpekhlua to add more goal scoring threat, but will most likely refrain from it to keep the team more compact defensively. However, expect the Mizo sniper to play a role from the bench, like in the last two matches. Winger Halicharan Narzary, who had a disappointing outing against UAE, will look to step up his performance on Monday's all-important tie.

The defence will be the main area of concern for the India head coach. Despite creating a host of chances against UAE, the Blue Tigers conceded two soft goals from long balls to hand the Emiratis all three points in the last match. The onus will be on central defenders Sandesh Jhingan and Anas Edathodika to give goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu as much protection as possible.

BAHRAIN

While they might sit in the bottom position in Group A, Bahrain cannot be taken lightly. Given their splendid form heading into the tournament, the Bahrainis were expecting a fine run from their team in UAE. While the results have not favoured them so far, it has not been for a lack of trying. The Reds would have taken all three points from hosts UAE in the opening fixture, had it not been for a controversial late penalty awarded against them. In their second match against Thailand, a piece of individual magic from the War Elephants’ Chanathip Songkrasin proved to be the difference between the two sides. However, anything but a victory against India will see them exit the competition from the group stage, which makes them all the more dangerous going into Monday’s match.

Bahrain will take confidence from their record against India, having won four of the five encounters they have had against the Blue Tigers. The other match ended in a draw. The two sides last met in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup group stage, with Bahrain coming out as comfortable 5-2 winners. Incidentally, the match back in 2011 was played exactly eight years back on the same day – January 14. Sunil Chhetri was one of the scorers in that match and will look to find the net again on Monday.

For Bahrain, Mohamed Al Romaihi and Ali Madan will be their biggest threats going forward. Romaihi has scored Bahrain’s only goal of the tournament so far, while Madan does have the ability to unlock defences with his pace and creativity. With both sides needing a win to seal qualification, we can expect a nerve-wracking match on Monday.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS:

INDIA: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK), Subhasish Bose, Anas Edathodika, Sandesh Jhingan, Pritam Kotal, Halicharan Narzary, Pronay Halder, Anirudh Thapa, Udanta Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan, Sunil Chhetri

BAHRAIN: Sayed Shubbar Alawi (GK), Sayed Redha Isa, Hamad Mahmood Alshamsan, Waleed Al Hayam, Ahmed Ali Juma, Sayed Dhiya Saeed, Ali Al Safi, Mohamed Marhoon, Ali Jaafar Madan, Komail Alaswad, Mohamed Al Romaihi

Catch the match live at 9.30 PM on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar.