Philippines U23 vs Kuwait U23 — Tips & Analysis

Over 2.75: The shape of this one is set before kick off. Kuwait must win by at least three goals to stay alive, so they have to chase from the first whistle. That is the kind of game that opens up. The Philippines are already out with no points from two group games, and they have been easy to score against. They have let in seven goals here, losing 0-2 to Vietnam and 1-5 to Uzbekistan. Across their last 20 games they let in almost 2 a game. Kuwait are not a free scoring side. They score 1 goal a game over their last 20 and have managed one goal in two games here. They have ground out 1-0 wins over Afghanistan and Lebanon rather than running up scores. Still, a team pushing bodies forward for a big margin leaves plenty of space behind it. And 11 of the Philippines' last 20 games have had 3 or more goals. The honest read is a low scoring 0-2 Kuwait win, and that falls a goal short of what this needs. So it needs Kuwait to find a third, or the Philippines to grab one of their own late on. That is asking a lot of two blunt attacks. We are still on the busier game, because a side hunting a big win is the side that supplies the extra goal.