* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
Wednesday sees two heavyweights of African football go head-to-head in the Last 16 of the African Cup of Nations as Ivory Coast take on Egypt for a place in the quarter-finals. We’ve also dug up some interesting stats in the later game when Mali face Equatorial Guinea. Let’s see then where we’ve found some value bets from both games.
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16.00: Ivory Coast vs Egypt – Ivory Coast to Win and Over 1.5 Goals
TV: Sky Sports Football
Ivory Coast came through Group E with two wins and a draw, scoring six goals and conceding three. Only hosts Cameroon scored more over their group games. Egypt were somewhat disappointing over their Group D encounters, even though they recorded two wins and a loss they were expected to have done better and only scored two goals and conceded one.
The Elephants have been enjoying the better form of late and the market has them as favourites to advance. Over their five most previous games they have won three, drawn one and lost one while the Pharaohs have won just two of their last five, drawing one (losing it on penalties) and losing two.
Ivory Coast have some real quality in their side too: Ajax’s Sebastian Haller has scored 12 in 17 league games this season, Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe has three over his last six for the national side and with Milan’s Franck Kessie and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha supplying them they should continue their trend of scoring at least two goals in six of their last eight games.
Egypt, of course, have Liverpool’s Mo Salah but their only other player with a few goals in him is Galatarasay’s Mostafa Mohamed, who has five in 17 for his club side this season. Ivory Coast then have the superior players and the superior form and should advance to the next round of the competition. We’re backing the Elephants to Win and Over 1.5 Goals here.
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19.00: Mali vs Equatorial Guinea – Mali to Win and Under 2.5 Goals
TV: Sky Sports Premier League
Mali topped Group F with two wins and a draw, scoring a respectable four goals and conceding just one. Equatorial Guinea finished second behind Ivory Coast in Group E with two wins and one loss, scoring two and conceding just one. Both sides had been in good form prior to the tournament too and over their last six games Mali have won five and drawn one, while Equatorial Guinea have won three, drawn two and lost one over their last six games.
Mali are getting the vast amount of the action in the market thanks to that form, and it’s also worth mentioning they scored nine goals over those six games and conceded just one. Equatorial Guinea scored five over their six respective games and conceded three. Over those 12 combined games Over 2.5 goals was only witnessed in one so we can certainly add that stat into the mix, especially since both teams have very strong defences. Mali though have the superior form and we’re liking the look here to Mali to Win and Under 2.5 Goals.
Africa Cup of Nations tips
16.00: Ivory Coast v Egypt – Ivory Coast to Win and Over 1.5 Goals
19.00: Mali vs Equatorial Guinea: Mali to Win and Under 2.5 Goals
Both of these picks in a Paddy Power double pays at odds of around 8/1. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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