Thailand need a result at the United Arab Emirates on Thursday night to revive their World Cup qualification hopes.
The match at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and kicks off at 11pm, Thai time, and will be televised live on Channel 7 and Fox Sports.
Thailand can't afford another slip-up in Group B of Asia's final qualifying round for the 2018 World Cup after their 1-0 loss at Saudi Arabia and 2-0 defeat against Japan in Bangkok in their first two games.
In today's other Group B matches, Japan host Iraq and Australia visit Saudi Arabia.
Australia and Saudi Arabia each have six points, three ahead of Japan and the UAE. Thailand and Iraq are still looking for their first point.
In Group A are Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Qatar, China and Syria.
The top two teams of each group earn tickets to Russia 2018. The two third-placed teams meet in a play-off with the winners then taking on a Concacaf side for another berth.
"It will be a difficult game for us," Thailand coach Kiatisak Senamuang told a press conference yesterday. "Many people think Australia and Japan are the best teams in this group. Indeed, the UAE are also strong as they won at Japan in their first game."
The UAE suffered a home loss to Australia in their second match.
Forwards Omar Abdulrahman and Ahmed Khalil are dangerous but the UAE play as a team with good tactics, Kiatisak said.
"The UAE coach [Mahdi Ali Hassan] is a tactician," he said. "We must do our best to get at least a point against the UAE. We also have to get a result against Iraq in our next game [in Tehran on Oct 11] to keep alive our hopes."
UAE coach Hassan said: "This is an important game for the UAE. We respect Thailand because they are one of the best teams in Asia but we want to win."
Pulling the strings for the UAE is Abdulrahman, who set up the opener and scored another in his Al Ain club's 3-1 win against El Jaish in the recent AFC Champions League semi-final first leg.
For the Thais, striker Teerasil Dangda is a key component if they are to get their first point of the campaign.
Midfielder Sarach Yooyen, Teerasil's teammate at SCG Muang Thong United, returns from a one-game suspension.
Sarach is expected to partner another Muang Thong star Chanathip 'Messi Jay' Songkrasin, who celebrated his 23rd birthday yesterday, in midfield.
Thailand and the UAE have met seven times with the Middle East side winning five and drawing one.
Their most recent encounter was Kiatisak's testimonial match at Bangkok's Supachalasai Stadium which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Kiatisak and his men can also take heart from a 3-0 triumph against the UAE at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium in the 2006 World Cup qualifying round.
Meanwhile, Japan coach Vahid Halilhodzic said yesterday he hoped to turn adversity into opportunity as his team face Iraq in a crunch World Cup qualifier that could determine his and his squad's fate.
If Japan fail to beat Iraq in Saitama today, their qualification chances will start to hang in a very delicate balance, Kyodo reported.
But with his job possibly at stake, the Bosnian said he was not letting the pressure get to him.
"There's always pressure in football but it can help motivate the players," said Halilhodzic. "At this phase of the qualifying competition, just playing well isn't good enough. You have to do remarkably well to get the job done."