Sports Mole looks ahead to Monday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, including predictions, team news and possible line-ups.
Sierra Leone play host Guinea Bissau in their second qualifier for the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 on Monday at the General Lansana Conte Stadium.
The home side will be looking to recover from an opening defeat last time out, while the visitors are looking to pick up back-to-back victories to open their qualifying campaign.
game preview
Guinea-Bissau beat Sao Tome and Principe 5-1 at the Stade Adrar in Agadir on Thursday.
Baciro CandeThe men went behind in the 21st minute Edmilson Vegas‘s opener hits beforehand Alfa Semedo, Zidane Banjaqui, Jorginho and Zinho Gano turned the game upside down.
Aiming to qualify for a fourth consecutive continental finals, Djurtus lead Group A of qualifiers after the first round, if only on goal difference.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing side who have not suffered a defeat in either of the two previous encounters between the teams, both of which will be played in 2007.
After keeping three of their last four away games without conceding a goal, the visitors will look to put in another solid defensive performance away on Monday.
Sierra Leone ended their two-game winning streak with a 2-1 defeat by Nigeria at the Abuja National Stadium on Thursday.
John Keister’s men opened the scoring in the 11th minute through Jonathan Morsay, but goals from Alex Iwobi and Victor Osimhen left them empty handed.
The Leone Stars are now set to get their qualifying journey underway as they embark on a quest for back-to-back AFCON appearances for the first time since 1966.
Having not won any of their four competitive games since the turn of the year, the hosts have to pull themselves together as quickly as possible on Monday in order not to have too much catching up to do.
Sierra Leone Africa Cup of Nations Qualification Form:
Form Sierra Leone (all competitions):
Guinea-Bissau Africa Cup of Nations Qualification Form:
Form Guinea-Bissau (all competitions):
Team News
Zinho Gano has now scored three goals in his last two games for Guinea-Bissau and the 28-year-old is one to watch.
After both making good substitutions last time out, Jorginho and Zidane Banjaqui could be rewarded with a place in the starting XI.
After scoring his first goal for Sierra Leone, Jonathan Morsay will be looking to pick up where he left off against Nigeria.
Nineteen years old Kallum Cesay would have been disappointed not to have featured in the aforementioned game following his brace in the last international break but we expect he will play a role this time.
Sierra Leone possible starting line-up:
camera; Samadia, Caulker, Sesay, Kakay; Koroma, Kamara, Conteh; Turay, Morsay, Bundu
Guinea-Bissau possible starting line-up:
Gomis; Encada, Mane, Sangante, Cande; Camara, Nogueira, Semedo; Dalcio, Gano, Piqueti
We say: Sierra Leone – Guinea-Bissau 1:1
Guinea-Bissau come into play after a stunning triumph last time out, but Sierra Leone will also be eager to respond to Thursday’s defeat. We bet on a share of the loot, with teams having to settle for one point a piece in the end.
For a data analysis of the most likely outcomes, goal scores and more for this game, please click here.
top tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com predict under 3.5 goals in this game. Click here to find out what else they predict for this game and for more of their tried and true football tips.Under 3.5:Data