Preview: Poland vs. Saudi Arabia - prediction, team news, lineups

Robert Lewandowski missed a penalty as the Bialo-czerwoni drew 0-0 to Mexico in Tuesday's opener, while their opponents beat Argentina to pull off one of the greatest World Cup upsets in living memory.

Match preview

Following an uninspiring, perhaps overly-cautious first 45 minutes at Stadium 974 on Tuesday, Poland were presented with a golden opportunity to snatch all three points against Mexico, as their talisman Lewandowski was wrestled to the ground in the penalty area by Hector Moreno.

World Cup hero Guillermo Ochoa was there to deny the country's record goalscorer, however, as the Barcelona forward failed to convert from 12 yards for the second time this month.

Racking up just 0.04 expected goals in the first half, and 0.14 throughout the whole game aside from the penalty, Czeslaw Michniewicz's side will feel that this was a missed opportunity against a side that they would have been expecting to compete with for that second qualification spot, particularly after favourites Argentina dropped unlikely points.

If Poland are to stand any chance of progressing, a victory is vitally important here, and they will have to be on their toes against a high-pressing Saudi Arabia side, who will still be riding the wave of their greatest ever victory.

Salem Al-Dawsari's spectacular winning goal on Tuesday will go down in World Cup folklore, as the 31-year-old's sensational curling finish condemned Argentina to their first defeat in 36 outings.

Herve Renard's side impressed with their bold style of play, incorporating a dangerously high and aggressive line, springing the offside trap an incredible 10 times.

In the middle, Mohamed Kanno played the role of midfield enforcer almost perfectly, while the Hassan Al Tambakti put in a heroic performance in the centre of defence.

With three points already secured, another result here would put them well on their way to a first run to the knockout stages since 1994.

Poland World Cup form:

D

Poland form (all competitions):

D

L

L

W

W

D

Saudi Arabia World Cup form:

W

Saudi Arabia form (all competitions):

D

D

L

D

W

W

Team News

For Poland, both Krystian Bielik and Bartosz Bereszynski were confirmed to have been carrying knocks since Tuesday by the manager, but both should be fit and available here.

In desperate need of points, there is a chance that we will see extra firepower in the form of Arkadiusz Milik brought in from the start.

As for Saudi Arabia, full-back Yasser Al-Shahrani was reportedly flown home from the World Cup after successful jaw surgery, following a horror collision with his own goalkeeper late on in Tuesday's famous win.

As a result, we are likely to see Mohammed Al-Burayk in from the start, in an otherwise very familiar side to the one that shocked the footballing world just four days ago.

Poland possible starting lineup:

Szczesny; Zalewski, Kiwior, Glik, Bednarek, Cash; Szymanski, Krychowiak, Zielinski; Lewandowski, Milik

Saudi Arabia possible starting lineup:

Al-Owais; Al-Burayk, Al-Boleahi, Al Tambakti, Abdulhamid; Al Malki, Kanno, Al-Abed; Al Dawsari, Al-Shehiri, Al Buraikan

We say: Poland 1-1 Saudi Arabia

Only a will win really do for Poland here, so we expect them to play more expansively and aggressively in search of an all-important three points.

Saudi Arabia, however, have proven that they can beat anyone, and we think they should have enough to frustrate their opponents and take another huge step to qualification.

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