Los Angeles Stadium will host Belgium vs Iran on Sunday at 3 PM local time (8 PM BST) to kick off the second World Cup match day of Group G, with all teams level on points.

Matchday one showed that this group isn't as predictable as expected, with New Zealand and Egypt surprising many with their performances.

In the opening game of Group G, Belgium struggled to a 1-1 draw against Egypt after a sub-par performance, with a point salvaged when Romelu Lukaku, on the pitch for just 20 seconds, forced an own goal from Mohamed Hany.

Iran, on the other hand, will be disappointed that they won't come into the game against Belgium with three points to their name, having failed to beat New Zealand, who are the lowest-ranked nation participating in this summer's World Cup.

Despite this, Iran showed admirable resilience, twice fighting back from a goal down to battle to a 2-2 draw against the All Whites.

Rudi Garcia will be looking for an instant response from his side's disappointing performance in their opening fixture, but the Red Devils will be at a major disadvantage, with news emerging from the Belgian camp that Jeremy Doku will be ruled out of the clash with Iran.

Despite not being at his best against Egypt, Doku was still set to be a huge part of this Belgian side, with the 24-year-old seen as the star of the nation's next crop of up-and-coming talent.

The winger, who Kevin De Bruyne described as "impossible to defend", will not feature against Iran after suffering a relapse of a respiratory infection which has already troubled him in the run-up to the World Cup.

Speaking at his press conference before Sunday's fixture, Rudi Garcia confirmed that his star player would be missing the fixture.

He can’t play, and so we’ll be playing without him. I knew since [Friday] evening that he won’t be playing. I don’t want to get players to play if they’re not medically up for the game. I can get players to play even if they’re not 100 percent physically, but 100 percent medically is [more important]. But I’m absolutely 100 percent sure we’ll be fine and we’ll be winning tomorrow.”

The situation surrounding Lukaku's fitness was also clarified by Garcia, indicating that Belgium's all-time leading top scorer will once again be starting on the bench for Belgium.

“We do need to be careful, because we could be tempted to play him more than he could.

"But the goal is to have him play to the end [of the World Cup]. We cannot wear him out early. And then there’s competition. As long as the others are fit to play, he can play a role as the super sub. It’s his role par excellence.

"We also could have him start, but I’m not sure he could go further than 60 minutes. ... He’s not only a good striker for Belgium, but he’s one of the best in football, and it’s good to have him here. He missed many training sessions, so we’re happy to have him against all odds.”

Highly talented centre-back Zeno Debast remains sidelined with a leg injury picked up towards the end of the season.

For Iran, midfielder Saman Ghoddos will be an injury concern for the game against Belgium, having been forced off with an ankle problem in the opening game against New Zealand.

This will be the first-ever meeting between the two nations, both of which came back from behind to secure hard-fought draws in their opening Group G fixtures.

Belgium will back themselves to bounce back from their disappointing showing against Egypt, and remind the world that they still sit at football's top table.

Garcia will be disappointed by how close the midfield battle was against Egypt, with Belgium's trio of Kevin De Bruyne, Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana being far superior to Egypt's setup, but they struggled to maintain constant possession, with the Red Devils just edging the stat with 54%.

Ultimately, even without Doku on the left wing, Belgium's attacking quality should prove too much for an Iranian defence that showed vulnerability at the back after conceding twice.

The Red Devils' defence also struggled to contain Egypt's threat on the counter-attack, something Mehdi Taremi and Iran will be looking to exploit.

Prediction: Belgium 2 - 1 Iran