Guinea will take on champions Senegal at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in the final match of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) group stage on Tuesday.
Guinea, who finished as runners-up in 1976, enjoyed an unbeaten start to the competition. They were held to a 1-1 draw by Cameroon in their campaign opener after Mohamed Bayou’s opener was canceled out by Franck Magri in the second half.
They went up with a win in their previous outing with Aguibou Camara scoring the only goal of the game, assisted by Morgan Guilavogui in their 1-0 win over The Gambia.
The reigning champions started their title defense in a positive way by recording wins in both their games in the group stage. They have booked their place in the knockout round and can afford to take a breather in this match.
They beat Gambia 3-0 in their opening campaign and built on that form with a 3-1 win over Cameroon thanks to goals from Ismaïla Sarr, Habib Diallo and Sadio Mané.
Guinea need at least a point to seal their place in the knockout stage, but they can also qualify for the next stage as one of the best third-placed teams from the group stage, depending on other results.
Guinea vs Senegal Head-to-Head and key numbers
- The two West African nations have a long-standing rivalry and have locked horns 59 times in all competitions. The 2021 AFCON champions have the upper hand in these meetings with a 28-16 lead in wins and 15 draws.
- They have met four times in the AFCON finals. Guinea have just one win against their northern rivals. Senegal has two wins and only one meeting ended in a draw.
- They met in the group stage at the previous AFCON tournament, with the match ending in a goalless draw.
- Six of the last seven meetings between them have scored fewer than 2.5 goals, with three clean sheets for each team.
Guinea vs Senegal Prediction
The National Elephants recorded their first AFCON win in five matches on Saturday and will look to build on that form here. They kept the net twice in that time and failed to find the back of the net twice. They have just one win in their last six meetings with their northern rivals.
Captain Naby Keïta made an appearance off the bench after recovering from a thigh injury and is expected to start here. Striker Serhou Guirassy is dealing with a hamstring problem and is not in contention to start here.
The Lions of Teranga have the best attacking record in the group stage of the competition, scoring three goals each in two games. Interestingly, they have scored three goals in four of their last five AFCON appearances and will be looking to build on that form.
Moussa Niakhaté was injured at the start of the campaign while Abdallah Sima was injured in training last week. Shima left the camp while Niahate’s involvement here is doubtful.
Considering the current form of the two teams and the champions’ better record in this game, they should be able to pull off a narrow win.
Prophecy: Guinea 1-2 Senegal
Guinea vs Senegal Betting tips
Tip 1: Result – Senegal win
Tip 2: Goals – Over/Under 2.5 Goals – Over 2.5 Goals
Tip 3: At least one goal to be scored in the second half – Yes
Tip 4: Ismaïla Sarr to score or assist anytime – Yes