Preview: Malaysia vs. Papua New Guinea - prediction, team news, lineups

The Harimau Malaya, on the other hand, head into the game on a run of three consecutive wins and will be looking to keep the juggernaut rolling.

Match preview

Malaysia were denied a first AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup crown since 2010 as they suffered a 3-1 aggregate loss to eventual winners Thailand in the semi-finals back in January.

Kim Pan-gon's men have won each of their three friendlies since the end of their Suzuki Cup campaign while scoring seven goals and keeping two clean sheets in that time.

Malaysia maintained their fine run of results last Wednesday when they picked up a 4-1 comeback victory over Solomon Islands at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium.

After falling behind to Raphael Lea'i's early opener, the Harimau Malaya upped the ante as Paulo Josue, Arif Aiman Hanapi, Safawi Rasid and Lee Tuck found the back of the net to turn the game on its head.

With Wednesday's result, Malaysia have now won each of their last seven friendlies, stretching back to a 2-1 loss against Singapore at the Singapore National Stadium in March 2022.

Elsewhere, Papua New Guinea turned in a resilient team performance as they came from behind twice to salvage a 2-2 draw with Singapore when the sides met last Friday.

In an action-packed first half, Adam Swandi and Hariss Harun put Singapore ahead twice in the game but Ati Kepo and Raymond Gunemba scored for the visitors to force a share of the spoils.

This was Papua New Guinea's first outing since September 2022, when they picked up a 1-0 victory over Vanuatu at the Korman Stadium courtesy of a 77th-minute strike from Kepo.

The Kapuls are now unbeaten in four of their last five outings across all competitions, claiming three wins and one draw since losing three consecutive games between September 2017 and March 2022.

Santiago Marina's men, who are currently 159th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, now face the challenge of a Malaysia side who have won three of their last four meetings, with a 2-0 loss in June 2016 being the exception.

Malaysia friendly form:

Malaysia form (all competitions):

Papua New Guinea friendly form:

Papua New Guinea form (all competitions):

Team News

Malaysia turned in a superb performance against Solomon Islands last time out and Pan-gon could make little or no change to his starting XI on Tuesday.

Josue and Hanapi were both on target at the weekend and should retain their roles in attack, while striker Tuck could be rewarded with a starting role following his impressive cameo.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Johor Darul Ta'zim man Shahrul Saad and club teammate Feroz Baharudin should form the centre-back pairing, shielding Syihan Hazmi in goal.

With his strike against Singapore, 27-year-old Ati Kepo has now found the target in his last four games for Papua New Guinea and will be one to keep an eye on.

Gunemba became the Kapuls' joint all-time leading scorer, equalling Reggie Davani record of 13 goals, and the 37-year-old will be looking to set a new record on Tuesday.

Malaysia possible starting lineup:

Hazmi; Davies, Saad, Baharudin, Ong; Wilkin, Kutty, Endrick; Hanapi, Josue, Tuck

Papua New Guinea possible starting lineup:

Warisan; Namuesh, K Kepo, Talau, Joe; Paul, Simon, Yasasa; A Kepo, Gunemba; Tiampo

We say: Malaysia 2-1 Papua New Guinea

Malaysia have put together a fine run of results and will be looking to keep the ball rolling ahead of the 2023 AFC Asia Cup. Kim Pan-gon's side have home advantage in their favour and we predict they will do just enough to edge out the Kapuls.

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