KUALA LUMPUR: National football coach Dollah Salleh has a right to be worried when his side take on Palestine in the 2018 World Cup Asian Zone qualifier on Tuesday.

Palestine are a more formidable side compared to Timor Leste, his side were held to a 1-1 draw last Thursday. Palestine gave Asian giants Saudi Arabia a run for their money before conceding a stoppage-time goal to lose 3-2 in their opening match.

To make matters worse, hardworking midfielder Joseph Kalang Tie is a doubtful starter due to an ankle injury.

“If they (Palestine) can put up a strong fight against a team like Saudi in an away match, it is certainly not going to be easy for us to beat them,” said Dollah.

“We must make sure we don’t make the same mistakes like we did against Timor Leste. We need to fight for 90 minutes and not lose concentration,” added Dollah, whose side conceded a goal to Timor Leste in stoppage time.

Palestine are ranked 118th in the world compared to Malaysia’s 162nd. They featured in the Asian Cup Finals in Australia in January. After failing to get past the group stage, Palestine made wholesale changes.

They have brought a young side to Kuala Lumpur and coach Abdel Nasser Barakat is eager to get their first win on board.

“We lost to Saudi Arabia and now we need a win to spur us on.

“We respect Malaysia and it will be a tough game. We are rebuilding our side, but we are confident we can get a win in this game,” said Abdel Nasser.

For Malaysia, they will be banking on the Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) duo of Safee Sali and Mohd Amri Yahyah to get the goals.

Skipper Safiq Rahim is expected to partner Mohd Nasir Basharudin in midfield while Muslim Ahmad and Mohd Fadhli Shas will be in charge of defence. Mohd Farizal Marlias is tipped to start in goal.

The other team in Group A are the United Arab Emirates, the world No. 73.

The eight group winners and the best four group runners-up will advance to the third round.

The pre-World Cup campaign also serves as a qualifier for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, which will be held in the UAE.