The green and gold will be out to bounce back quickly after a disappointing loss to Jordan
Australia must get a positive result against Palestine to keep their Asian Cup defence on track when the pair meet at the Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium on January 11 at 10pm AEDT (3pm local).
The Socceroos failed to impress in their group opener as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against an inspired Jordan side, while Palestine did well to hold Syria to a goalless draw.
This will be the first time these two nations have played each other and on paper at least, there appears to be a big gap of quality between them.
Article continues below
Editors' Picks
Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as league leaders Liverpool put on a five-star show Lukaku sends reminder that his Man Utd career is far from over
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In Australia, the match can be watched live on Fox Sports through the Foxtel platform. There is no free-to-air broadcaster.
You can stream the game through either the Foxtel Go, Foxtel Play and Kayo – just bear in mind those services are subscription based.
Squads & Team News
Aaron Mooy, Daniel Arzani and Martin Boyle have all missed out on the Socceroos squad through injury, while a number of others remain under injury clouds.
Tom Rogic broke a bone in his hand against Jordan and will likely be rested or played off the bench.
Right-back Josh Risdon is set to miss the match after he sustained a groin injury, while Andrew Nabbout is fighting to be fit after being a late withdrawal against Jordan.
Jamie Maclaren struggled leading the line for the Socceroos last time out and could be replaced by either Nabbout or Apostolos Giannou against Palestine.
Jackson Irvine and Chris Ikonomidis both impressed off the bench against Jordan and will be pushing for a start on Friday.
Socceroos predicted XI: Ryan (GK); Behich, Degenek, Sainsbury, Grant; Luongo, Milligan; Kruse, Ikonomidis, Mabil; Nabbout.
Abdelatif Bahdari will lead Palestine in the UAE with the defender boasting the most caps and second most goals of this current squad. A lack of goals appear to be Palestine’s biggest concern right now with their front three of Yashir Islame, Khaled Salem and Mahmoud Wadi netting just nine goals between them for their country. Palestine’s players are spread out across the globe with Nazmi Albadawi playing club football in the US, Mohammed Saleh in Malta and Yashir Islame in Chile. Palestine predicted XI: Hamadeh; Al-Battat, Al Bahdari, Saleh, Gaber; Tamburrini, Darwish; Cantillana, Maraaba, Seyam; Pinto.
Betting & Match Odds
Australia are string favourite to beat Palestine with odds of $1.28 for a Socceroos win, draw $5 and Palestine victory $11.
A 1-0 or 2-0 win for the green and gold is the most likely result with both valued at $5.50.
Jamie Maclaren is the best backed player to strike going at odds of $4.50 to open the scoring and $2.05 to find the back of the net anytime.
All odds courtesy of Bet365 and correct at the time of publishing.
Match Preview
The Socceroos’ Asian Cup title defence began in very shaky fashion against Jordan and they’ll be out to make amends at the expense of Palestine.
While injuries continue to plague Australia’s campaign, the green and gold should and really must find a way to beat The Knights.
Having dominated possession against Jordan but failing to find the back of the net, the Socceroos will again be invited to dictate play and must make the most of it.
Jamie Maclaren struggled to lead the line last time out and Graham Arnold will likely be keen to replace him with Andrew Nabbout should the attacker be fit enough to start.
Elsewhere, Tom Rogic could be rested after breaking a bone in his hand and putting in a subsequently disappointing performance against Jordan.
Currently ranked 99th in the world, Palestine are without a win in their past four matches but did pick up a crucial point against Syria to start their Asian Cup campaign.
With an experienced defence but an untested attacked, expect The Fedayeen to sit back against Australia and force the Socceroos to break them down.
Something the green and gold must find a way to do if they are any hope of lifting the Asian Cup again.