Egypt vs Iran Prediction: Salah to shine for the Pharoahs in Seattle

Egypt need only avoid defeat against Iran in their final Group G match at the FIFA World Cup to progress to the knockout stage for the first time since 1934. the two sides meet in Seattle on Friday (8pm local time/Saturday 4am BST, BBC Two).

Iran are also in the hunt for a place in the knockout stage and you can check out my Egypt vs Iran predictions below, featuring the latest match odds from Betfred and team news.

Team News

We could see Egypt boss Hossam Hassan field a similar XI that defeated New Zealand last time out as they look to carry on the momentum they've been building.

The Pharoahs may be forced into a change here as Hamdy Fathy was forced off before half-time in the last game. Ramy Rabia replaced Fathy in that fixture and he's expected to come in from the off against Iran.

Hossam Abdelmaguid was also withdrawn in the New Zealand victory after coming on from the bench, so he too is a doubt for this clash.

Roozbeh Cheshmi is Iran's sole injury concern heading into this game, having missed his side's two opening matches in North America.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh might be swapped for fellow winger Saleh Hardani, who will be pushing for his first start of the tournament.

Egypt vs Iran Odds

Betfred has Egypt at 6/4 to win this clash and the Pharoahs have won three of their past six outings.

Iran's two results in Group G so far have been stalemates, with the draw here on offer at 7/4. Team Melli are deemed a 12/5 shot to come away with the three points.

Egypt's Mohamed Salah heads the Player To Score market at 2/1 and the attacker opened his account in Monday's win over New Zealand.

Player To Score Or Assist (Sub Switch) - Mohamed Salah @ 5/4

Salah's experience at the top level has proven invaluable to Egypt in North America. The winger has had a bright start to his tournament campaign, with three goal involvements already.

He opened his account last time out against New Zealand, while setting up Trezeguet for their third goal in the match. He was also the provider for Emam Ashour in the draw against Belgium on matchday one.

I think Salah is set for a starring role again on Friday, and I think punters will find great value in backing him to score or assist at 5/4, which has an implied probability of 44.4%.

Betfred's Sub Switch offer means that your bet stays in play, even if your player doesn't. The bet rolls over to the player coming on.

Both Teams To Score - Yes @ 11/10

I think that Egypt will come out on top in this clash given the attacking players at their disposal, but Iran can certainly cause the Pharoahs some problems. Iran looked sharp on matchday one against New Zealand and they frustrated Belgium in their goalless stalemate last time out.

With a place in knockout stage at stake, I'm expecting an end-to-end contest and so I think Both Teams To Score - Yes is a smart play. This bet has landed in each of Egypt's past three fixtures, while there have been goals at both ends in three of Iran's previous six outings.