Kuala Lumpur: If you ask any golf pundit to predict the EurAsia Cup score this week, most will favour Europe. But, the Asian camp has other plans. Captain Arjun Atwal is fairly confident that his team will deliver and shake off the underdogs tag.

The Europeans have put together a fairly formidable team - a combination of youth and experience. The team has Henrik Stenson and Paul Casey, who are both among the top-20 in the world, with Stenson being at No. 9 and Casey at No. 14.

The highest ranked Asian is Yuta Ikeda at No. 36, followed by Kiradech Aphibarnrat at No. 49. What this team players have is belief in themselves. Players like Anirban Lahiri have huge knowledge of this format, having been a part of two Presidents Cup and EurAsia Cup teams - a so-called veteran whose energy and contribution is invaluable to Captain Atwal.

The teams have been playing practice rounds and the captains have their proposed pairings playing together. The Glen Marie Golf Course is a 7000 yard layout, which requires some precise hitting with the fairways being drawn in for this EurAsia Cup.

The course offers four par-threes and four par-fives which are scoring opportunity for the players. That will be relevant on the last day on Sunday, when they play the singles.

I have been on the range and watching the Asian players practice I see some positive energy, especially among the younger players like Gavin Green (Asian No. 1), Phachara Khongwatmai (who is only 18 years and one of the youngest winners of a professional golf tournament) and Poom Saksansin, who is 24 years .

They don't seem overawed at all and are in fact looking forward to the opportunity. The Captain will rely heavily on them.

The Europeans, on the other hand, have used this opportunity to blood some of the younger players in this format before the Ryder Cup. Players like Tyrell Hatton, Paul Dunne will use this tournament as a build-up to the Ryder Cup.

The seriousness with which Team Europe have prepared for this event shows how much they value team format and their experience in it. They analyse data of their opponents to make their pairs.

The last EurAsia Cup was a completely one-sided with Darren Clarke's Europe beating Jeev Milkha Singh's Asian team 18.5 to 5.5.

However, Team Asia won't be a pushover. There is more than pride to play for here, as the winning team players can earn up to $300,000, while the losers earn $100,000.

It's likely that Captain Atwal will play his two Indian players together. They have been practising together and playing the foursome format. A clear strategy is in place with the captain relying heavily on Zhang Lian Wei and Rahil Gangjee to give him feedback to prepare his pairings.

Atwal's wife Ritika has organised an outing for the players' wives and girlfriends to help them bond with each other. The Asian team room is abuzz with activity from the morning. And the players themselves were seen enjoying games of table tennis, with Anirban leading the rankings, with a match with Pachara to follow.