Australia will begin their path to Asian Cup redemption in their first group stage match against India at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Saturday.
The Socceroos experienced a disappointing campaign in 2019 where they were defending their crown, falling to an unexpected defeat in the quarterfinals against the UAE. They will hope for a much stronger performance in their fifth appearance at the tournament.
An intriguing clash against an unheralded India side awaits them, with their opponents participating in their second Asian Cup in a row after a group stage exit in 2019.
Below, we look at all the latest betting odds, predictions, injury news and analysis for Australia vs India in the Asian Cup 2023.
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Australia vs. India team news and lineups
The biggest concern for Australia coach Graham Arnold is the fitness of captain and goalkeeper Mathew Ryan, who is still recovering from a fractured cheekbone sustained playing for club side AZ Alkmaar.
The shotstopper was pictured training with the team recently with a face shield, but he did not start their warm up match against Bahrain. A-League Men goalkeepers Joe Gauci and Lawrence Thomas are ready if needed, with Gauci starting in the 2-0 win over Bahrain.
India legend and star man Sunil Chhetri will captain his country once again at the age of 39 – the striker has 93 goals in 145 games for his country and would love to add to that tally against such a strong opponent.
It will be intriguing to see who coach Igor Stimac starts in goal, with Gurpreet Singh and Amrinder Singh both playing a game each in the opening two World Cup second round qualifiers.
Watch every match of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 only on Paramount+
Australia vs India analysis, prediction and betting odds
While Australia’s last Asian Cup was a disappointment, their World Cup campaign in Qatar was far better, with the team winning two games with two clean sheets, and pushing eventual winners Argentina close in the Round of 16.
They faced many strong opponents in 2023, including a rematch against Argentina, and a famous match at Wembley Stadium against England; in both games the Socceroos acquitted themselves well but ultimately fell to defeat.
Amazingly, Australia and India have only faced off once in the last 68 years, with Australia comfortably swatting aside India in a 4-0 group stage victory in their only meeting.
India will put up a spirited fight, but a similar result should be expected; Mitch Duke scored the winner against Tunisia in the World Cup, and he has a good chance of getting on the scoresheet once again as he will use his power and physicality to give the Indian defence a mountain of problems.
How to watch Australia vs India: TV channel, live stream for Asian Cup
The opening match of Group B is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. local time at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, which is a 10:30 pm AEDT kick off.
Australia know the stadium well – it is the venue where their Round of 16 World Cup clash against Argentina took place.
All of the Socceroos' Asian Cup games will be shown on free-to-air via Network 10, and will be streamed on both on 10Play and Paramount+.