USA vs Australia Tips & Predictions - Socceroos look to build on Canada triumph against another host nation

A few days after dispatching another World Cup host nation in Canada, the Socceroos will be aiming to double down against the United States. Tony Popovic now finds himself 11 games unbeaten as new manager, with Australia coming into this clash on a seven-match winning streak - including last weekend's 1-0 victory over Canada. The Socceroos absorbed some early pressure and raised their level in the second stanza, with teenage star Nestory Irankunda scoring for the second straight game in green and gold. Meanwhile, the USA were held to a 1-1 draw with Ecuador in their most-recent friendly - a result which followed an impressive 2-0 win over Japan.

This will obviously be Popovic's biggest test as Socceroos manager, but the team have developed a steely underbelly under his tutelage and are proving very tough to break down. More importantly, there's finally some spark, creativity and excitement in the final third with Irankunda and Mo Toure, while Jordy Bos also changed the game when he came on down the left flank against Canada. USA deserve favouritism at home, but they could grow frustrated in front of goal. I'm backing BTTS - No as the best bet, with a smaller stake on the Socceroos extending their unbeaten run.

This will be the first meeting between the two nations since a friendly in 2010, when USA came away with a 3-1 victory.

As one of the three host nations for next year's World Cup, the USA didn't need to go through qualifying and therefore have been playing a lot of friendlies over the last couple of years.

Mauricio Pochettino's side did however recently play in a competitive tournament, advancing to the Gold Cup final before going down 2-1 to Mexico.

USA went on to lose 2-0 against South Korea in a friendly before bouncing back with a 2-0 victory over Japan and a 1-1 draw with Ecuador on the weekend. USA controlled the game with 66 per cent possesion, with Monaco striker Folarin Balogun scoring the equaliser in the 71st minute.

Pochettino will likely rest captain Christian Pulisic, who didn't feature against Ecuador after injuring his ankle in the preseason.

Folarin Balogun will likely keep his spot after scoring against Ecuador, while it will be interesting to see if attacker Timothy Weah is once again deployed as a wing back.

While they obviously haven't faced the strongest competition, the Socceroos are one of the form nations in the world, coming into this contest on an 11-game unbeaten streak.

While his style has been criticised, you can't argue with results and that's what Popovic has achieved since coming into the manager role.

Australia have beaten the likes of Japan, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand twice before last weekend's impressive 1-0 victory over Canada. Irankunda remains a massive threat down the left wing, while Toure continues to make the No. 9 shirt his own, with the pair combining again to hand the Socceroos the win.

Expect Popovic to make more changes to the side that defeated Canada.

You have to think that the Kye Rowles experiment at left back is over - he was outclassed by the Canadian winger last weekend, while Bos changed the game when he came on after half-time.

Cam Devlin could be in line to feature after impressing for Hearts this season, while Lewis Miller is a chance to come in at fullback.

Daniel Arzani, Max Balard, Jordan Bos, Martin Boyle, Cameron Burgess, Alessandro Circati, Milos Degenek, Cameron Devlin, Mitch Duke, Nicholas D’Agostino, Joe Gauci, Jason Geria, Ajdin Hrustic, Nestory Irankunda, Paul Izzo, Fran Karacic, Hayden Matthews, Connor Metcalfe, Lewis Miller, Aiden O’Neill, Alex Robertson. Kye Rowles, Mat Ryan, Mohamed Toure, Patrick Yazbek