Matildas vs Uzbekistan Second Leg Preview

<p>The Matildas will return to Australia with a three-goal lead over Uzbekistan after the first leg of their Olympic qualifier.</p> <p>Despite dominating every metric, it took until the final 20 minutes of the match for the Tillies to find the breakthrough.</p> <p>Recalled veteran Michelle Heyman marked her return to international football by breaking the deadlock after coming off the bench.</p> <p>From there, Mary Fowler and Caitlin Foord finished the job to ensure the Aussies take a 3-0 aggregate lead home with them to Melbourne.</p> <p>With the job all but done can the Matildas seal the deal on home soil and book their ticket to Paris? Or will Uzbekistan pull off the shock of all shocks?</p> <p>For the latest news, lineups, odds, predictions, and betting tips for the second leg of this Olympic qualifier, check out our Matildas vs Uzbekistan preview below.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Matildas vs Uzbekistan Predicted Lineups</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>With a commanding lead heading into the second leg, we expect head coach Tony Gustavsson to chop and change his team a little for this one.</p> <p>Returning veteran Michelle Heyman showed her quality from the bench in Tashkent, but we expect her to get the chance to do so in Melbourne from jump.</p> <p>This will likely be at the expense of fellow goal scorer Mary Fowler who is due a well-earned rest after playing the entirety of the first leg.</p> <p>We also expect Caitlin Foord to come into the starting side as well after finding the back of the net from the pine, with Emily van Egmond to make way.</p> <p><strong>Australia predicted lineup</strong>: <em>Mackenzie Arnold (GK), Ellie Carpenter, Alanna Kennedy, Clare Hunt, Steph Catley (c), Kaitlyn Torpey Hayley Raso, Katrina Gorry, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Michelle Heyman, Caitlin Foord.</em></p> <p>For Uzbekistan they need goals and quick. They’ll be forced to chase the game for the get go, so we expect an attacking change or two from the visitors.</p> <p><strong>Uzbekistan predicted lineup:</strong> <em>M.Jonimqulova (GK), S.Kuchkorova, N.Nabikulova, M.Shoyimova, D.S.Qizi Asadova, U.Zoirova, I.Abiyakimova, N.Kudratova, D.Khabibullaeva, Z.U.Qizi Mamatkarimova, L.Karachik.</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Matildas vs Uzbekistan Match Preview</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>If you thought the Matildas were favourites in the first leg, wait until you see the odds for this clash.</p> <p>At the time of writing Uzbekistan are a mind-blowing 34.00 to win this match. The Tillies on the other hand are nearly as short as they come – 1.03.</p> <p>Mind you those are the odds just for this leg, not the whole tie. It’s probably best to not imagine what Uzbekistan would be paying to overturn their 3-0 deficit and book their place at the Paris Olympics. We imagine it would be well into triple digits.</p> <p>Obviously our Matildas are expected to win and win well, the only question that really remains is how well?</p> <p>Seeing as Uzbekistan have no choice but to chase the game from the offset and try and overturn the three-goal deficit from the first leg, they could be left very open at the back.</p> <p>We’re expecting the Matildas to capitilse on this and for the floodgates to open sooner rather than later with the home crowd behind them.</p> <p>It may have taken until the 73rd minute of the first leg for the deadlock to be broken, we highly doubt that will be the case here.</p> <p>We’re predicting the Aussies to find the back of the net early on the break and to run away with the match.</p> <p>That being said, we do expect the visitors to be rewarded for their efforts and grab a goal at some point, even if the match and the tie are long gone by then.</p> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> Matildas 4-1 Uzbekistan.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Matildas vs Uzbekistan Betting Tips &amp; Predictions</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Head-to-Head (H2H)</h3> <p>At the more than comfortable price of 1.03 (at the time of writing) the girls in Green and Gold are the obvious and easy tip in the H2H market for this game.</p> <p>At home with a sellout crowd behind them, there should only be one winner here.</p> <p><strong>Betting tip:</strong> Matildas.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>First Goal</h3> <p>As previously mentioned, we expect some changes in the attacking third of the field from Tony G for the second leg of this tie.</p> <p>One of those predicted changes is that of Michelle Heyman. After her heroics from the bench in the first leg, we expect her to be given a start and to produce a repeat performance.</p> <p>She opened the scoring in Tashkent and we’re backing her to do the same in Melbourne.</p> <p>Keep an eye out if she is named in the starting 11, as she’ll be a great option for first goal scorer in a Matildas multi.</p> <p><strong>Betting tip:</strong> Michelle Heyman.</p>

<h3>Over/Under</h3> <p>With an over/under of only 2.5 goals, we’ll be taking the over. This mark was eclipsed in the first leg and we see no reason why it shouldn’t be surpassed once again at Marvel Stadium.</p> <p><strong>Betting tip: </strong>Over 2.5 goals.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Matildas vs Uzbekistan Odds</h2>

<h2>Matildas vs Uzbekistan Match Details</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Location:</strong> Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Date:</strong> Wednesday, February 28, 2024.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Kick off time:</strong> 8:10pm AEDT.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Looking to make a Matildas SGM? Check out our <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/punter-iq/guide/same-game-multi">What is a Same Game Multi</a> Punter IQ guide.&nbsp;</p>