India vs Bhutan Preview & Tips - India to eliminate Bhutan and move into SAFF Championship final

India and Bhutan will battle in the semi-final of the SAFF Championship, with the pair arriving in markedly different form after a short group-stage. 

The pair have met four times before, with India winning three times and one game ending as a draw after 90 minutes. 

India stormed to the top of their SAFF Championship group after notching two wins and maximum points. While their perfect run alludes to their campaign being a simple one, it has been far from easy. 

Their opener saw them roar into a 3-0 lead over Pakistan within the first 31 minutes. India would have felt that, at 3-0 up heading into the 90th minute, the game was won. However, they were almost made to rue any complacency as Pakistan scored in the 91st and 94th minutes to make it 3-2. While they did hold on, they were almost denied a win that looked a certainty mere moments before. 

Against Maldives, India were really made to work for their win. Despite being massive favourites to win that match, they got over the line via a penalty in the 39th minute, with India not looking fluent at all. While they will more than likely beat a Bhutan side that are yet to win at the competition, I predict a very tight match in which India squeeze past their opponents. 

Bhutan have struggled for any kind of momentum at the SAFF Championship after picking up a single point from their opening two matches. 

A 1-0 loss to Bangladesh in their opener was a frustrating defeat, while they were denied a win against Sri Lanka in a 2-2 draw. In that game, Bhutan went ahead in the 34th minute before conceding in the 35th minute. They then had to come from 2-1 down to rescue a point in a battling draw. 

Against the better sides, Bhutan were always likely to struggle. I predict that they will look to stay compact and take the few chances that come their way, with this likely making for a tight defeat in which they fail to secure a win at the SAFF Championship.