South Africa Women vs China PR Women Predictions

It was an unsuccessful first outing for South Africa, who lost to Spain on match-day one, though there were positives for Banyana Banyana, who led with little over 20 minutes to go. Similarly, China failed to match the Germans on match-day one, but they too showed glimpses of promise, so they’ll certainly fancy themselves to do better this time around.

Given that they not only held Spain but were out in front until nearly 20 minutes from time, it would be easy to assume that South Africa played well on match-day one, and while their efforts cannot be completely disregarded, they should be taken with a pinch of salt. If we scratch beneath the surface, it’s easy to feel that they were more than deserving of their defeat.

Despite scoring first, South Africa created very little going forward on match-day one, as they managed just two shots on target, while they posted only 0.16 expected goals for. At the other end, they shipped a whopping 3.4 expected goals for, while they allowed Spain to accumulate 26 shots, 11 of which hit the target. Such numbers tell us that the South Africans struggled considerably first time out.

While Banyana Banyana were well-beaten, China got a bit more competitive against the Germans. Not only did they concede just one goal, but they missed a decent opportunity to take the lead at 0-0, while the expected goal figures suggest that the gap in quality between them and their opponents was much less than in the other game. China posted a total of 0.84 expected goals for, while they conceded 2.06.

Ahead of this match, China’s heavy odds-on price-tag may seem somewhat skinny, but they would probably be shorter had South Africa not managed to steal the lead and hold on for so long against the Spanish. As the rankings suggest, there’s a good deal between the Chinese, who rank 16^th, and the South Africans, who’re currently sat in 49^th.

Specifically, ‘China to Win & Under 2.5 Goals’ stands out. Defensively, Xiuquan Jia’s women should have more than enough in the locker to contain a South African side that created next to nothing on match-day one, though they shouldn’t be expected to run riot. For all they offered a good deal more going forward than Thursday’s opponents first time out, they’re not the biggest scorers having notched more than once in just one of their seven matches in 2019.