D.R. Congo vs Zambia prediction: AFRICA: Africa Cup of Nations betting tips on match 2024-01-16 20:00.
As one of the five teams making their comeback after missing the last edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), DR Congo will be keen to make an impact this time around. History weighs heavily against the two-time champions though, as both those titles were won under a previous name with the last coming all the way back in 1974. Despite that, hopes of qualifying out of Group F are still bright, as DR Congo have managed to escape their group in their last three appearances in this continental tournament.
DR Congo’s seven-game form (W1, D3, L3) suggests that they’re currently short on confidence and that probably accounts for their outsiders status here. Instead, confidence could be found when looking back to their AFCON qualification group performances, where despite starting with two defeats, they topped the standings after coach Sébastien Desabre revived their fortunes with four straight wins.
Zambia are making an appearance in the AFCON finals for the first time since 2015, after topping group H in qualification over tournament hosts Ivory Coast via head-to-head goal difference. With former Chelsea manager Avram Grant now in the dugout, they have a boss who possesses solid experience in this tournament, having led Ghana to the final and a fourth-place finish in 2015 and 2017 respectively.
Expectations will be low overall however, as the Copper Bullets have misfired in their last two AFCON appearances after bowing out without a win overall, although five draws (L1) over those editions shows their ability to grind out points. Now they’ll be targeting a return to winning ways in this competition, having not won an AFCON finals match since causing a major upset to win the title in 2012, their only success to date!
Players to watch: With 17 goal contributions (G14, A3) this league campaign for Braga, DR Congo’s Simon Banza has been a sensation in Portugal and travels here looking for his first national goal. Leicester City’s Patson Daka could prove to be pivotal for Zambia’s hopes here, having scored six goals in his last four national appearances.
Hot stat: Nine of DR Congo's last ten matches have produced under 2.5 goals.