World Cup
2007-11-18 - Thailand vs Yemen
A Sports Betting Pick by Romerz
Asian Qualifier – Round 2, 2nd Leg
Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok
18 November 2007 – 11.00 GMT
After the 1st leg of the qualifiers ended 1-1 in Yemen, world ranked 114 Thailand will host 136 ranked Yemen in Bangkok for the 2nd leg 0n 18 November.
1st Leg
In San'aa, visitors Thailand took a 32nd min lead through Sarayoot Chaikamdee but Yemen soon grabbed the equalizer through Ali Al-Nono 3 minutes from halftime. Both sides squandered a couple of chances in the second half and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Apart from the above paragraph in the FIFA website, I’m unable to find any commentary on how the match actually went so we’ll rely on the statistics instead.
Thailand
Thailand has only lost twice at home since 26 December 2006 out of 16 matches played. Of the 16 matches, they won 8 and drew 6 with the 2 losses coming against Holland 1-3 in a friendly on 6 June 2006 and against Australia 0-4 in the Asian Cup on 16 July 2007.
Amongst the 8 wins were victories against Singapore, Vietnam, China, Qatar and Oman, teams who are not lightweights by any means. Thailand boasts a home record of 50% wins, 37.5% draws and 12.5% losses.
H2H with Yemen, Thailand has met Yemen on 3 occasions, all being world cup qualifiers. The 1st time was on 31 March 2004, where Thailand beat Yemen 3-0 away. The subsequent 2 meetings produced 1-1 scorelines, with the Thais once at home and once away.
Yemen
Yemen has not won an away match since 1 March 2006 when they beat India 3-0 in the Asian Cup qualifier. That was the sole win Yemen achieved away since 8 September 2004 (that’s as far back as my records go). In all, that was 9 away matches with 1 win, 2 draws and 6 losses.
The most significant result to me was Yemen’s 0-2 loss to the Maldives on 28 October 2007. Thailand is head and shoulders above the Maldives and with the same home advantage, should be able to get the desired result and progress to the next round.
Also of note is Yemen’s away record, which is 12.5% win, 12.5% draw, and 75% loss.
Analysis
As I’ve said in my previous previews of Thailand in Asian Cup 2007, they are a team never to be taken lightly when at home for the simple reason that their home support is tremendous. The team literally feeds off the vocal support and will rise to the occasion.
Factor in the hot and humid conditions the Yemenis have to endure, all the plus points are in favor of Thailand. We all recently watched Thailand in the Asian Cup 2007 and they held their own against far superior opposition and I don’t think it will be any different this time.
With the away goal advantage, Thailand will go into this match with an advantage but I don’t think it will be needed as I see Thailand winning this match outright.
The Verdict
I expect Thailand to win
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Thailand to win @ 1.33 (Bet365).Good luck. Thumbs Up
