Egypt vs D.R. Congo prediction: AFRICA: Africa Cup of Nations – Play Offs betting tips on match 2024-01-27 20:00.
A spot in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter final is up for grabs for both Egypt and the Democratic Republic of Congo this Sunday, as the two face off in the Ivorian city of San Pédro. It has been a difficult AFCON so far for the 2021 finalists Egypt, who lost their talisman Mohamed Salah to injury in the second game and are yet to win in 90 minutes upon the conclusion of the group stage (D3).
Luckily, three draws were enough to seal second for the record seven-time AFCON winners, and the omission of Salah may not prove fatal as other Egyptian players have scored five of their six goals so far at this tournament. Whilst they were eliminated at this stage in 2019, the Pharaohs have at least made the final in five of their last six AFCON appearances, which should hand them a psychological edge despite their wobbling form.
As fate would have it, D.R Congo also drew all three of their group games, meaning one team will pick up their very first victory of the tournament in this game one way or another! Perhaps the more worrying part of their draws was the low-scoring nature of those games, with the Leopards netting just twice across their three group games, albeit one came in a spirited stalemate against tournament favourites Morocco.
Any victory for DR Congo would write history in this competition, as in both of their prior AFCON H2Hs against Egypt, they have lost by multi-goal margins. Another frustrating evening may ensue then, especially seeing as Sébastien Desabre’s men have run out winners in just one of their last ten international matches, nine of which produced under 2.5 total goals.
Players to watch: Egypt’s Mostafa Mohamed has scored in all three of their games at this tournament and is currently averaging one direct goal contribution per game across his last six internationals (G4, A2). Silas could be DR Congo’s main goal threat – he scored the crucial equaliser against Morocco and has won each of his last five scoring appearances for club side Stuttgart with multi-goal margins.
Hot stat: Each of Egypt’s last six internationals have featured goals in both halves, with all three at this AFCON producing three second-half goals!