Australia managed to top Group C on goal difference after edging out Bahrain 1-0 on Wednesday morning, but the pressure is on for a better performance after they struggled to hold out the Red Wolves late in that match. If not for Mark Schwarzer, Australia would have finished second in the group.

The problem there was a lack of quick-ball movement and while some of that could be attributed to the slippery conditions, the Australian midfield and attack looked particularly sluggish. Neither Harry Kewell or Tim Cahill got much service and it took a speculative shot from Mile Jedinak to break the deadlock.

There was little overlap from the full backs, Jade North and Matt McKay, who had both just come into the side, while Carl Valeri and Jedinak battled to get forward in support.

It was clear Australia badly missed Luke Wilkshire down the right, but there is a good chance he could return for this match having recovered from a groin injury suffered in the 1-1 draw with South Korea. David Carney, who injured his shoulder in the same game, is also a candidate to return in place of McKay.

It is not all good news for Australia in terms of player availability, with Brett Emerton suspended for this match, meaning Holger Osieck needs to find a solution on the right of midfield.

The most likely will see Brett Holman move to that side of the park, where he plays at club level, while McKay move into a more familiar role on the left. Osieck could also consider Neil Kilkenny or even Tommy Oar to come in as well.

Cahill has a badly corked leg, but should take his spot alongside Kewell, with Australia to persist with a plan to use aerial balls into the box to overwhelm their opponents.

The 2007 Asian Cup champions are much the same side which faced Australia in Bangkok and then during the first stage of World Cup qualification. Younus Mahmoud, a prolific scorer of over 30 goals at international level, leads the line and gets attacking support from Mustafa Karim, who performed well when given his chance against North Korea.

The key player is Nashat Akram, a player Australian fans will be well aware off from his performances against them in the past. He controls the midfield, while Hawar Mulla Mohammed is an experienced midfield hand who has been used off the bench so far in the tournament. Kerrar Jasim is another player worth keeping an eye on having scored the winner in the previous game.

The respective coaches Wolfgang Sidka and Osieck are both German and know each other well, which could make this cut-throat match an even more cagey affair.

Tactically the teams are well exposed against one another and with Australia getting two of their back four back in the side, it should see an improvement in attack and defence.

Iraq's previous results will tell you that this won't be a match of many goals, with four of their past five encounters ending 1-0, while the Socceroos haven't exactly been putting on a show this tournament either with the exception of a 4-0 win over minnows India.

This is a match which has extra time written all over it, with the high probability of penalties. If it goes that far, Australia will know that they have the best goalkeeper in the tournament to get them through to the semi-finals of the continental showpiece for the first time.

Date: Saturday, January 22
Kick-off: 4:15pm local (12:15am Sunday AEDT)
Venue: Al Sadd Stadium

Head-to-head
Played 6: Wins: Australia 3, Iraq 2, Draws: 1

Previous Meeting
Iraq 1, Australia 0, Dubai, June 2008

Past five matches:
Australia:
Australia 1, Bahrain 0, Doha January. 2011
Australia 1, Korea Republic 1, Doha, January 2011
Australia 4, India 0, Doha, January 2011
UAE 0, Australia 0, Al Ain, January 2011
Egypt 3, Australia 0, Cairo, November 2010

Iraq
Iraq 1, North Korea 0, Doha, January 2011
UAE 0, Iraq 1, Doha, January 2011
Iraq 1, Iran 2, Doha, January 2011
Saudi Arabia 0, Iraq 1, Dammam, December 2010
Syria 0, Iraq 1, Damascus, December 2010