On Sunday night, Gambia and Congo face off at the Stade de Marrakech in Group G of qualifying for the African Cup of Nations.
Gambia form guideThe home team is currently in second place in the group, three points ahead of the third-place visitors. Back-to-back victories over Mali and Gambia have played a key role in their position in the qualification spots.
Tom Saintfiet’s teams’ recent outings in AFCON qualifying have been low-scoring affairs, with under 2.5 goals scored in four of their previous five qualifiers.
Gambia have been difficult to beat of late in qualifying, as they are unbeaten in their last eight home qualifiers, having recorded five wins and three draws in 90 minutes. A big factor in their recent strong home form in qualifying has been a strong defensive record, as Gambia has conceded just one goal in their last four matches.
Congo form guideThe visitors know that nothing but a win will do if they are to qualify for next year's tournament. The one advantage for Congo is that they have a superior head-to-head record, having won the reverse fixture 1-0. Another victory would seal their spot at AFCON 2024.
However, Paul Put’s team has found wins in short supply of late, as Congo has won just once in their previous five international outings. There hasn’t been much in their recent games, as five of their last six matches have produced under 2.5 goals.
Congo also has a mixed recent record in African Cup of Nations qualifiers, although their record of just two wins in their previous eight matches is a poor one. They have also lost seven of their previous nine away games in AFCON qualifying.
What am I backing?This will likely be a tense and tight game with so much on the line. However, I believe that Congo will record a narrow victory.
