Guinea vs Gambia prediction: AFRICA: Africa Cup of Nations betting tips on match 2024-01-18 20:00.
Guinea head coach Kaba Diawara believes his side are already entering must-win territory if they are to reach the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) knockout phase for the third straight tournament. The National Elephants opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Cameroon, but given they have defending champions Senegal to play in their final group fixture, the boss feels only a victory is good enough when they take on the competition’s lowest-ranked nation, Gambia.
Diawara has some selection dilemmas on his hands ahead of the match, as striker François Kamano is suspended after being sent off on Monday, while question marks remain over the fitness of Naby Keïta, who did not come on against Cameroon. The Werder Bremen midfielder will be hoping he can make the difference if he gets the nod as Guinea seek to further improve their sequence of just one defeat from their last seven internationals (W3, D3).
History suggests though that they will find life tough against Gambia, whom they have beaten just twice in their last 11 H2Hs (D6, L3), including a 1-0 loss at the most recent AFCON. That was one of three wins for the Scorpions in the 2022 edition as they enjoyed a sensational run to the quarter-finals on their tournament debut, eventually bowing out to Cameroon.
Tom Saintfiet’s men have it all to do if they are going to repeat that success this time however, as their opening group game ended in a 3-0 defeat to Senegal. The loss was their third in a row, although preparations were hampered by a near-fatal flight to the Ivory Coast, which was aborted due to a lack of oxygen. Despite the deeply disappointing outcome against Senegal, Saintfiet is confident that “there is still hope” for his side, as he believes four points will be enough to qualify for the last 16.
Key battle: Guinea forward Mohamed Bayo is unbeaten across the five internationals in which he has scored (W2, D3), including against Cameroon on Monday. Attempting to thwart him will be goalkeeper Baboucarr Gaye, who has helped Gambia keep a clean sheet in eight of his 18 internationals.
Hot streak: Five of Guinea’s last six competitive matches have seen both teams score.