The Indian football team will take on the United Arab Emirates in the latest round of International Friendlies. Igor Stimac’s men returned to footballing action for the first time in a year last week as they held higher-ranked Oman to a 1-1 draw. The Blue Tigers were without their captain and record scorer Sunil Chettri for the clash and will once again have to be without their global star. Manvir Singh's Scores As Blue Tigers Play Out a Draw on Football Return.

India were impressive on their return to international football as they held out a higher-ranked team to a draw in a game that saw as many as 10 Indian players make their debut for the national team. Igor Stimac is expected to stick with much of his starting line-up from that game but could later opt for a number of changes given the lack of playing time for many in the squad.

Is Sunil Chhetri Playing Tonight in India vs UAE, International Friendly?

The Indian captain earlier in the month revealed that he has diagnosed with COVID-19 following which he underwent mandatory self-isolation. Due to this, the record Indian scorer was forced to miss the friendly clash against Oman last week.

However, Sunil Chhetri has since recovered from the virus and is ready to get back on the field once again. However, the 36-year-old won’t be taking any part in the game against Oman as he hasn’t traveled with the squad after being left out by coach Igor Stimac due to his positive diagnosis for the coronavirus.

Fully Recovered

Sunil Chhetri is likely to return to action when the Indian team resumes their World Cup 2022 Qualifiers in June. The Blue Tigers travel to face hosts Qatar and will be aiming to cause an upset. Igor Stimac’s side are fourth in the five-team group with three points in five games and are yet to win a fixture in the Group.

Predicted Playing XI

UAE: Ali Khasif, Bandar Al-Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdel-Rahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohamed Al-Attas, Ali Salmeen, Yahya Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Ali Mabkhout.

India: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Ashutosh Mehta, Chinglensana Singh, Adil Khan, Mandar Rao Dessai, Lalengmawia, Jeakson Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Ashique Kuruniyan, Manvir Singh.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 29, 2021 11:54 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).