Palestine vs China on 11 january 2019.
Former friends will temporarily turn into foes when Marcello Lippi and Sven-Goran Eriksson face-off in an Asian Cup clash on Friday when the Philipines meet China in Group C.
China coach Lippi and Philippines manager Eriksson will both be vying to secure a spot in the knockout phases following the group stage, which is underway, with China having registered an opening day win against Kyrgyzstan – while the Philippines sit bottom off the group having lost their first match to South Korea.
| Game | Philippines vs China |
| Date | Friday, January 11 |
| Time | 9:30 PM (malaysia time) |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Philippines players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Villanueva, Falkesgaard, Mendoza |
| Defenders | Siva, de Murga, Sato, Palla, Aguinaldo |
| Midfielders | Strauß, Woodland, Ma. Ott, Ramsay, Reed, Ingreso, Schrock, Tanton, J. Younghusband |
| Forwards | Mi. Ott, Bedic, P. Younghusband, Reichelt, Dizon, Patino |
Philippines striker Javier Patino could prove to be a threat to China after an impressive display against South Korea, while Eriksen has no major injury concerns to worry about.
Potential Philippines XI: Falkesgaard; de Murga, Sato, Palla, Aguinaldo; J. Younghusband, Ott, Schrok, Ramsey; P. Younghusband, Patino.
| Position | China players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Junling, Lu, Dalei |
| Defenders | Yiming, Yang, Ke, Linpeng, Xiaoting, Chengdong, Yang |
| Midfielders | Xuri, Zhi, Junmin, Zhongguo, Xi, Jingdao, Hanchao, Cheng |
| Forwards | Lei, Zhi, Shihao, Lin, Dabao |
Yu Dabao is expected to slot straight into the starting XI following his match-winning goal against Kyrgyzstan in their opening game of the competition, while captain Zheng Zhi – who has experience playing in Europe with Charlton Athletic and Celtic earlier in his career – is expected to be a key player.
Potential China XI: Dalei; Linpeng, Xiaoting, Chengdong, Yang; Zhi, Junmin, Xuri; Lin, Lei, Dabao.