Asian Cup Qualifying Preview: Singapore v Oman

Oman will be without their influential captain Ali Al Habsi for the Asian Cup Group A qualifier with Singapore on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old goalkeeper will not be travelling to Singapore due to a hip injury, which has kept him sidelined for club side Wigan Atheltic.

Coach Paul Le Guen also has to contend with two other major absentees in the Oman squad, as vice-captain Ahmed Mubarak and striker Ahmed Hosni are ruled out with injuries.

The Gulf state are firm favourites for this clash, having never lost to Singapore in their five previous meetings – in fact, they have never conceded a goal against them.

Oman have lost once in their last five outings and come into this match keen to add to their opening victory in Group A.

That win against Syria gave them the perfect start as they look to make it to their third Asian Cup when it is hosted in Australia in 2015.

Although Singapore have lost three of their last five games, they are unbeaten in their last two matches and will be hoping to maintain that form and pick up a rare victory.

The Asian side scored nine goals against Laos and Myanmar, with top scorer Indra Sahdan netting in both games.

Bernd Stange, the Singapore coach, has named 17-year-old Adam Swandi in his squad for his second cap, while Khairul Amri will aim to add to his 16 international goals at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

And the German was in positive mood ahead of the clash, confident that the squad he has assembled can maintain their recent form.

“It was not easy to finalise the squad but I am very pleased we have put together the team now,” he told the official Singapore FA website. “I am confident that these players have the capabilities to help the team achieve a good result against Oman.

“It is a well-balanced squad comprising experienced internationals and promising youngsters, including 10 players from the triumphant LionsXII team which won the Malaysian Super League (MSL) title early this month.”