Jordan vs South Korea Prediction: The Chivalrous Ones to lose out to Red Devils

Saturday sees the resumption of Group E in the 2023 Asian Cup and first off the bat, kicking off at 11:30, is a meeting between two opening game winners - Jordan and South Korea.

Jordan thrashed Malaysia 4-0 on Monday afternoon courtesy of braces from Mahmoud Al Mardi and Mousa Al-Tamari, while earlier in the day, South Korea beat Bahrain 3-1 as Lee Kang-In scored twice to add to Hwang In-Beom's opener.

The Chivalrous Ones and the Red Devils will now face off against each other at Al Thumama Stadium (Doha) in what is billed as a battle for top spot.

Team News

Jordan may have to make a couple of alterations to the starting XI that started so well against Malaysia.

Al Mardi, who scored twice in the first 32 minutes, was forced off shortly after scoring his second goal and replaced by Mohammad Abu Hasheesh, while defender Abdallah Nasib is also said to have sustained an injury in the game.

Hwang Hee-chan missed South Korea's opening game with a hip injury and the Wolves forward may miss out again on Saturday. Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-Gyu is an option in attack if head coach Jurgen Klinsmann opts to freshen up the side.

Match Odds

As the third-highest ranked Asian nation in the FIFA World Rankings - sitting 64 places above their opponents - it's no surprise to see South Korea as short as 1/4 to win on the weekend. A shock victory for Jordan - which would be their first-ever over the Red Devils - is available at 9/1 while the draw is priced at 4/1.

Both teams to score is backable at 6/5 and it's 13/8 for Group E to keep up its record of having over 3.5 goals in each match.

South Korea to win and both teams to score @ 21/10

South Korea had a sensational defensive record heading into this tournament, keeping seven consecutive clean sheets, but it should be noted that five of those games were friendlies and the two World Cup qualifiers were against low-ranked nations in Singapore and China.

Still, they looked a tough team to breach, but any grand designs of a flawless record in the group stage were ruined by Bahrain's Abdullah Al Hashash in the 51st-minute on Monday.

Perhaps that's an outlier, but South Korea's backline did look at sixes and sevens on a couple of occasions last weekend, and Jordan have a few attackers that can take advantage.

The Chivalrous Ones have scored in eight of their last nine internationals, with that run including goals against the top-two ranked Asian nations, Iran and Japan, in games they ultimately lost.

Mousa Al-Tamari to score anytime @ 5/1

The Montpellier man scored his 14th and 15th international goals on Monday, moving him into the top 10 Jordan goalscorers of all time. The first was a penalty while his second was a delicious lob from outside the area.

So, even if South Korea are resolute and leave few gaps in defence, it only takes a moment of madness from someone to concede a spot-kick and hand a presentable chance for Al-Tamari to get on the scoresheet in successive games, while the 26-year-old is sure to try his luck from distance again - two of his three shots against Malaysia came from outside the 18-yard box.

5/1 feels like a generous price for Al-Tamari to score anytime, particularly given Al Mardi's potential absence.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.