Alberto Zaccheroni’s side drew their Group A opener against Bahrain 1-1 on Saturday.
They face an India team who will be in buoyant mood after they began their tournament with an impressive 4-1 victory over 2018 AFF Championship semi-finalists Thailand.
Zaccheroni will hope his UAE outfit can avoid suffering a similar fate to Thailand when they take to Zayed Sports City stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to face India.
On the same day, Bahrain and Thailand – who are both searching for their first wins of the tournament – meet in Dubai.
The UAE finished in third place at the last AFC Asian Cup held in Australia in 2015 and as runners-up the previous time they hosted the tournament in 1996.