Sri Lanka vs Thailand Prediction, 5:15 p.m. November 18: Must-win imperative

TPO - Football commentary Sri Lanka vs Thailand, 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, 5:15 p.m. November 18 - Team information, expected lineup, score prediction. Traveling to Sri Lanka's home field, coach Anthony Hudson and his team must win all 3 points to continue the race for tickets to the 2027 Asian Cup.

Thailand's team has been shaken up since coach Hudson took over.

Comments before the match Sri Lanka vs Thailand

In Group D of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, Thailand has 9 points. Coach Hudson and his team are sharing the lead with Turkmenistan. This afternoon, Thailand will face Sri Lanka before playing the decisive match with Turkmenistan in the final round. Just one misstep and the "War Elephants" will lose their advantage to their opponents.

Thailand needs to quickly deal with Sri Lanka, an opponent that is considered much weaker than the "War Elephants". Sri Lanka is a small football nation, currently ranked 193rd in the FIFA rankings. However, Thailand cannot underestimate their opponent because in the first leg, they only beat Sri Lanka 1-0.

Before facing Sri Lanka, Thailand played a friendly match against Singapore at home. It was Coach Hudson's debut match after being appointed as Thailand's "hot seat". It was also Thailand's practice match under the new coach, after Mr. Hudson decided to shuffle the squad, recalling veterans such as Theerathon and Sarach Yooyen.

Thailand beat Singapore 3-2. However, the "War Elephants"'s style of play in their first official match under coach Hudson's reign has not reassured their fans. The connection between Thailand's youth and experience-mixed squad still needs time for coach Hudson to solve this difficult problem. Besides, defense is still Thailand's biggest concern at present.

The friendly match with Singapore took place at a very necessary time for Coach Hudson to carefully study Thailand's strengths and weaknesses. The mistakes that caused the "War Elephants" to concede a goal against Singapore must be thoroughly dealt with and cannot be repeated in an important match like Sri Lanka.

Form, head-to-head record Sri Lanka vs Thailand

In the first leg of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, Thailand seemed to have easily defeated Sri Lanka. However, the reality was that coach Ishii's team needed Gustavsson's controversial goal to win against Sri Lanka.

Since losing 2-3 to Vietnam in the second leg of the 2024 ASEAN Cup final, Thailand has maintained an unbeaten streak. In the most recent match in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers, the "War Elephants" destroyed Chinese Taipei 6-1. In terms of form, Thailand can confidently enter the second leg against Sri Lanka. The "War Elephants" only worry about the fact that they have just changed their "general" and the variables that can happen unexpectedly.

Sri Lanka vs Thailand team information

Thailand has just received a shock injury to Supachai. The main striker in the "War Elephants" squad will be out of action for at least 6 months. The rest of Thailand and Sri Lanka are ready for this afternoon's match.

Expected lineup:

Sri Lanka: Perera, Rajendram, Kelly, Dekker, Durrant, Perera, Kammerkncht, Suresh, Hingert, Rajamohan, Thayaparan.

Thailand: Khammai, Mickelson, Pansa, Theerathon, Nattapong, Deeromram, Sarach, Davis, Chanathip, Sarachat, Teerasak Poeiphimai.

Score prediction: Sri Lanka 1-3 Thailand.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/nhan-dinh-sri-lanka-vs-thai-lan-17h15-ngay-1811-menh-lenh-phai-thang-post1797143.tpo